THE LOCKWOOD REPORT

May 23, 2012 Vol. 8, No. 11

Some big news from this week and last though I’m not going to dive as deeply into them as I might ordinarily do. I’m on holiday, though that seems rather hypothetical since I’m here at the keyboard, aren’t I?

Whining aside, Volvo just told the world about its LNG engine coming in 2014 and Caterpillar announced that its 15-litre CT15 diesel will be ready for delivery in a very short time, namely the first week of June. The Cat launch is somewhat earlier than expected, I think.

Volvo actually made another interesting announcement, about remote diagnostics, at a press gathering in Miami Beach attended by my able colleague Jason Rhyno, and discussed the future of DME fuel – that’s dimethyl ether – in North America. The Swedes have been talking about DME for several years now and I’ve written about it many times, but the subject hasn’t arisen in the North American context until now. Since it can be produced from either natural gas or any number of biomass sources, I think it’s bound to stay in the news. Volvo seems firm in the belief that it will be a major player in the European fuel future.

As for the LNG engine, Jason reports that it’s just one part of Volvo’s new ‘Blue Power’ strategy, and is intended to compliment the company’s compressed CNG-powered VNM and VNL model daycabs. It will also be available in Mack trucks, of course.

Trace amounts of diesel will ignite the natural gas in the new 13-litre LNG engine, delivering a claimed 30% fuel-efficiency improvement over spark-ignition engines, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% compared with diesels. Volvo is aiming the engine at long-haul applications and says that it can meet the above numbers without cutting into power, torque or fuel efficiency.

While the engine will be a certified Volvo motor, the company is working with Westport in its development.