Volvo to study heavy hybrids

19 February 2007

The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded Volvo SEK 9.8m to develop new hybrid technology for refuse collection trucks and other heavy vehicles.

The project comprises development and testing of hybrid technology in two refuse collection trucks in Gothenburg and Stockholm. The aim of the project is to achieve fuel savings of up to 30%.

The project will be implemented in cooperation with two of Volvo’s major refuse collection customers and the vehicles are scheduled to be placed in operation in January 2008.

Evaluation and testing will be carried out in cooperation with the customers over a three-year period. During the entire project, Volvo will further develop and optimise the technology for future series production. Volvo will also install and test a new safety system for vehicles in city traffic on both trucks.

For the past 20 years, Volvo has worked on research and development of basic hybrid technology. Volvo’s own tests and simulations show that hybrid drive for heavy vehicles is most suitable for vehicles forced during operations to make many starts and stops, such as buses, distribution trucks and refuse vehicles. In these cases, fuel savings can reach 35%.