Skip to main content

Volvo wins US government contract to develop supertruck

Under a SuperTruck contract established with the US Department of Energy, Volvo Technology of America is scheduled to receive US$19 million in federal funding to be used by the Volvo Group’s North American truck-related operations to improve the freight-moving efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and reduce greenhouse gases.
April 17, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Under a SuperTruck contract established with the US Department of Energy, 609 Volvo Technology of America is scheduled to receive US$19 million in federal funding to be used by the Volvo Group’s North American truck-related operations to improve the freight-moving efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and reduce greenhouse gases.

A team of researchers and engineers in Greensboro, North Carolina and Hagerstown, Maryland will spend the next five years developing high-efficiency heavy-duty truck technologies aimed at moving more freight with less fuel, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Improved truck aerodynamics and energy conversion efficiency, maximising the output potential of the energy source, are two areas that are claimed to hold great promise for Class 8 efficiency gains.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • USDOT announces additional funding for low and no-emission vehicles
    September 28, 2015
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced the availability of US$22.5 million through the latest round of the low or no emission vehicle deployment program (LoNo) that will help deploy the next generation of energy-efficient vehicles nationwide. The funds are intended to encourage adoption of green technologies in transit buses, such as hydrogen fuel cells and electric and hybrid engines. The program focuses on commercialising the cleanest and most energy-ef
  • UK government to fund carbon-cutting truck trials
    April 25, 2012
    Truck operators have been invited to apply for a slice of US$15.34 million provided for industry trials of carbon-cutting trucks by the UK Department for Transport and the Technology Strategy Board. A competition opened yesterday for applications under the ‘Low carbon truck demonstration trial’ which will deliver fleets of low-emission heavy goods vehicles as well as supporting infrastructure such as fuelling stations and electric recharging hubs.
  • New US study examines contribution of transport to emissions
    July 11, 2016
    The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has published a new report, Transportation emissions in the context of emissions from other economic sectors: 1990-2014, which examines long-term trends in the contribution of transportation to total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, in the context of the other sources of emissions (industry, commercial, residential, and agriculture). Also of interest in this study are the relative contributions of various transportation modes, bo
  • New US study examines contribution of transport to emissions
    July 11, 2016
    The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has published a new report, Transportation emissions in the context of emissions from other economic sectors: 1990-2014, which examines long-term trends in the contribution of transportation to total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, in the context of the other sources of emissions (industry, commercial, residential, and agriculture). Also of interest in this study are the relative contributions of various transportation modes, bo