SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Volvo Trucks, Wednesday, became the first manufacturer to announce plans to commercialize dimethyl ether (DME)-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America as part of its “Blue Power” alternative fuel strategy.
DME mirrors the performance qualities and energy efficiency of diesel, but burns clean without producing soot. It can be made from a variety of sustainable domestic sources, as well as from North America’s abundant supply of natural gas. Therefore, it has the potential to significantly reduce the nation’s energy dependency.
Following its announcement at the California State Capitol, Volvo demonstrated the technology. The trucks are being field tested by some of Volvo’s U.S. customers and Volvo announced plans to begin limited production of DME-powered vehicles in 2015.
“With the addition of DME-powered vehicles to our previously announced CNG and LNG offering, Volvo’s Blue Power line-up will offer the industry’s most comprehensive approach to the developing North American alternative fuel market,” said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North American Sales and Marketing.
Nyberg was joined at the California state capitol by Cliff Rechtschaffen, Gov. Jerry Brown’s senior energy advisor, and by executives from Oberon Fuels, the first company to announce plans to commercialize DME fuel production in North America.
Volvo is partnering with Oberon Fuels and Safeway Inc., one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, to test the vehicles. Two DME-powered Volvo VNL models equipped with a Volvo D13 engine will run in the San Joaquin Valley region of California in Safeway’s commercial operations using Oberon-produced DME.
The project received $500,000 in funding from California’s San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and will be the second customer field test conducted by Volvo Trucks in the U.S.
“We look forward to further validating DME technology for the trucking industry with Safeway and Oberon,” said Nyberg. “We believe the fuel shows great potential for the North American market, and when produced from biomass, it can provide a 95 percent reduction in CO2 compared to diesel.”
To ensure DME is available for the project Oberon has developed skid-mounted, small-scale production units that cost-effectively convert biogas and natural gas to DME. Converting natural gas to DME is an innovative way to address many of the distribution, storage and fueling challenges otherwise presented by natural gas as a heavy truck fuel.
Safeway decided to participate in the field tests because of the company’s positive experience with Volvo trucks, as well as its focus on sustainability. “Safeway is very interested in alternative fuels, and we currently run Volvo trucks in our fleet,” said Tom Nartker, vice president of transportation for Safeway.
The DME announcement is the latest example of Volvo’s ongoing commitment to leadership in alternative fuel and driveline development. In 2007, the company showcased in Brussels seven commercial vehicles powered by seven different CO2-neutral fuels, one of which was DME. The company demonstrated these vehicles in U.S. operation in 2008, in conjunction with the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC).
Volvo decided to invest in DME technology and introduce it to the North American market because of the numerous benefits DME offers as a heavy-truck fuel. In addition to offering performance and efficiency comparable to diesel, DME packages densely enough on a truck to support long-range transports.
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