Thursday, September 21, 2017 10:08:55 AM
Notice how Lars mentions the new Mack Athem. One of the options on this truck is the CMI/Westport engine. Check out the bolded area on engines.
WASHINGTON — Truck engineers are in the midst of a technological revolution, but are challenged to move away from established technologies and venture into the unknown, according to Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer Lars Stenqvist.
“I know where we’ve come from, but I don’t exactly know where we’re going,” Stenqvist told a group of truck writers in a wide-ranging discussion of issues at the House of Sweden on Sept. 18. “I have some ideas, but for sure the future is more uncertain than ever, and more is going to happen in the years to come than what has happened if we go back.”
Stenqvist said that two recent Volvo Group launches — the namesake truck maker’s new VNL series in July and the Mack Anthem tractor earlier this month — are evidence that the company is taking the North American market seriously. He added that for Volvo’s 7,000 engineers dedicated to truck development, the times are very exciting, but also more challenging than ever.
“The tough part right now in our industry is that we have problems leaving well-known — some guys would say old — technologies behind,” Stenqvist said.
The company is investing heavily in work on such advanced truck and bus technologies as connectivity, vehicle automation and electromobility, he said, a response to U.S. fleets’ and legislators demand for solutions that will reduce crashes and mitigate congestion.
In addition, engineers need to further develop existing transmission, rolling resistance and aerodynamics technologies. “We still need to continue our investments in those technologies that we have been mastering for decades,” he added.
One area where change will come slow, he said, is trucking’s reliance on the internal combustion engine.
The tough part right now in our industry is that we have problems leaving well-known — some guys would say old — technologies behind.Lars Stenqvist
“But the death of the combustion engine is not today, not tomorrow, not even 10 years away,” Stenqvist added. “Because the combustion engine, when it comes to longhaul freight, will be some kind of foundation for many years to come.”
Yet, there is still room for improvement for today’s modern engines. Case in point: Volvo’s technology that adds waves to piston crowns to improve the use of oxygen to reduce fuel consumption.
“That makes a perfect design for the mix of fuel and air,” he said. “Just by that shape of the piston we can reduce fuel consumption by 2%.”
Earlier this month, Volvo demonstrated another potential improvement in engine fuel efficiency with a two-day three-truck vehicle platooning event on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia.
Although Volvo still is crunching the numbers on VNL series platooning test conducted in late August on a closed track in Quebec, Canada, Stenqvist predicted that platooning will save fleets as much as 5% to 6% in fuel savings. Platooning also has the potential to improve safety since it requires the deployment of more collision avoidance technologies than unconnected trucks, he added.
“You’re adding safety features on top of those that we have today,” Stenqvist said. “That’s why we say it’s even more safe than just by operating at cruise control.”
Stenqvist said fully automated heavy-duty commercial vehicles — those without drivers — are “far down the road.”
“That’s definitely not where we are, or even aiming for, because the traffic situation is so extreme and unpredictable, and there are so many, many applications that can be used before then,” he said.
He added, “We will never accept full autonomous vehicles with lower safety demands. For me, it’s very much about education and demonstrating. I think it’s fair today that people are scared about this.”
Recent WPRT News
- Form 6-K - Report of foreign issuer [Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/13/2024 09:15:04 PM
- Form SUPPL - Voluntary Supplemental Material by Foreign Issuers [Section 11(a)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/13/2024 09:14:05 PM
- Westport Announces At-the-Market Equity Offering Program • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 09/13/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Form 6-K - Report of foreign issuer [Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/13/2024 09:15:04 PM
- Form 6-K - Report of foreign issuer [Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/13/2024 09:04:46 PM
- Westport Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Revises Segment Reporting • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 08/13/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Form 6-K - Report of foreign issuer [Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 07/26/2024 02:17:20 PM
- Westport to Issue Q2 2024 Financial Results on August 13, 2024 • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/25/2024 11:15:00 PM
- Volvo Group and Westport Celebrate Transformative Partnership • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 07/05/2024 10:30:00 AM
- Westport Fuel Systems Publishes 2023 ESG Report • PR Newswire (Canada) • 06/25/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport Fuel Systems Publishes 2023 ESG Report • PR Newswire (US) • 06/25/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport Fuel Systems Publishes 2023 ESG Report • PR Newswire (US) • 06/25/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport Publishes Annual General Meeting Results • PR Newswire (Canada) • 06/13/2024 10:00:00 PM
- Westport Publishes Annual General Meeting Results • PR Newswire (US) • 06/13/2024 10:00:00 PM
- Westport and Volvo Group Announce Closing of the Joint Venture • PR Newswire (US) • 06/03/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport and Volvo Group Announce Closing of the Joint Venture • PR Newswire (Canada) • 06/03/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport and Volvo Group Announce Closing of the Joint Venture • PR Newswire (US) • 06/03/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Form 6-K - Report of foreign issuer [Rules 13a-16 and 15d-16] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/08/2024 09:07:15 PM
- Westport Fuel Systems Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results • PR Newswire (Canada) • 05/08/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport Fuel Systems Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results • PR Newswire (US) • 05/08/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport Fuel Systems Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results • PR Newswire (US) • 05/08/2024 09:00:00 PM
- Westport to Issue Q1 2024 Financial Results on May 8, 2024 • PR Newswire (US) • 04/23/2024 10:30:00 AM
- Westport to Issue Q1 2024 Financial Results on May 8, 2024 • PR Newswire (Canada) • 04/23/2024 10:30:00 AM
- Westport to Issue Q1 2024 Financial Results on May 8, 2024 • PR Newswire (US) • 04/23/2024 10:30:00 AM
- Westport's Alternative Fuel Technologies Can Play an Important Role in Meeting the Strengthened European Decarbonization Targets for Heavy-Duty Vehicles • PR Newswire (Canada) • 04/11/2024 10:30:00 AM
VHAI - Vocodia Partners with Leading Political Super PACs to Revolutionize Fundraising Efforts • VHAI • Sep 19, 2024 11:48 AM
Dear Cashmere Group Holding Co. AKA Swifty Global Signs Binding Letter of Intent to be Acquired by Signing Day Sports • DRCR • Sep 19, 2024 10:26 AM
HealthLynked Launches Virtual Urgent Care Through Partnership with Lyric Health. • HLYK • Sep 19, 2024 8:00 AM
Element79 Gold Corp. Appoints Kevin Arias as Advisor to the Board of Directors, Strengthening Strategic Leadership • ELMGF • Sep 18, 2024 10:29 AM
Mawson Finland Limited Further Expands the Known Mineralized Zones at Rajapalot: Palokas step-out drills 7 metres @ 9.1 g/t gold & 706 ppm cobalt • MFL • Sep 17, 2024 9:02 AM
PickleJar Announces Integration With OptCulture to Deliver Holistic Fan Experiences at Venue Point of Sale • PKLE • Sep 17, 2024 8:00 AM