Arla Foods, the UK’s largest dairy cooperative, recently acquired seven new Volvo FM LNG 6x2 tractor units to replace seven diesel models from its fleet as the company works to meet its carbon reduction goals by 2030. The FMs are sleeper cab models that will be used for collecting and delivering milk from the company’s farms and depot operations in Leeds and Burton-On-Trent to processing sites throughout the country. Fuel will be provided by Gasrec’s open-access site at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and Gasrec’s station at Reed Boardall’s depot in Boroughbridge. The FMs, paired with Arla’s milk tanker trailers, will log approximately 200,000 kilometres (124,275 miles) per year.
“We have some ambitious sustainability targets to meet in the coming years, and reducing emissions from our logistics operations will be key to helping us meet these,” explains Arla Foods Inbound Logistics Director Richard Wilson. “We have trialled dual-fuel vehicles which proved successful, but these new units are an even bigger step up for us. We are now turning cow poo from our farms, and food which would otherwise go to waste, into a source of renewable fuel.
“These new bio-LNG trucks will play a crucial part in our plans to hit our 2030 sustainability targets—which is a 63% reduction of CO2 against our baseline from 2015 for our own fleet operations,” Wilson continues. “Who knows what the future holds in terms of electric and hydrogen technology, but for now and the medium term we believe trucks powered by bio-LNG are the best route for us to make a significant carbon reduction in the fleet.”
The LNG-Powered FM
The FM LNG’s Volvo G13C engine uses small amounts of diesel to initiate ignition of the air-fuel mixture, which allows it to provide 460 horsepower (338 kilowatts) and 2,300 newton-metres (1,696 pounds-foot) of torque, the same power as Volvo’s diesel equivalent. Its powertrain also provides the same engine braking without the added weight and complexity that comes with the need of a separate retarder. The FMs have large windows, lowered door lines, A-pillars that have been raised and narrowed, and additional rear windows in the sleeper cabs to improve visibility. The FM LNG is available with three tank size options to provide operating ranges of up to 1,000 km (620 mi).
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Source: Volvo