Volvo and Westport Fuel Systems announced a joint venture to accelerate the commercialization of Westport’s HPDI (high-pressure direct injection) technology for alternative fuels such as LNG and hydrogen for heavy truck and off-road applications.
“We are confident that, we can bring sustainable solutions forward, using the internal combustion engine, running on renewable fuels now and hydrogen in the future,” Volvo Group’s chief technology officer Lars Stenqvist says.
Using internal combustion engine technology eliminates the need for the minerals, catalysts and batteries required by hydrogen fuel cell systems, making for a less expensive alternative and using existing drivetrain technology.
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Westport says its hydrogen fuel system-equipped engines deliver higher performance than other spark-ignition hydrogen internal combustion engines, producing significantly higher efficiency and power density along with lower operating cost. They can operate on less pure hydrogen than fuel cell designs — and are also less costly to produce, the company says.
As Volvo is also a producer of heavy off-road equipment, the technology could eventually find its way into other off-road agricultural machines.
The joint venture will be headquartered in Vancouver.
