In addition to the introduction of a complete series of fully electric trucks and the development of hydrogen technology, DAF is reporting that increasing numbers of customers are using renewable fuels in their engines to drive down CO2 emissions. HVO – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – is a latest generation biofuel that enables a reduction in CO2emissions of up to 90% and one which can be used in all New Generation DAF trucks.
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is made from waste products and fats from the food industry. It is currently the most sustainable fuel on the market for diesel-engined trucks and offers a reduction of up to90% in CO2emissions, from ‘Well-to-wheel’, compared with regular diesel. Unlike previous generations of biofuel, HVO has no impact on food production.
In addition to the environmental benefits, another important advantage is that HVOis a true ‘drop-in’ fuel that can be used in DAF trucks without any vehicle modifications, while maintaining the trucks’ excellent performance, as well as the service intervals of up to200,000 kilometres for long-distance transport.
Suited for the full DAF product range
All of the latest generation of DAF trucks are ready to use 100% HVO, including the popular LF series for distribution transport, the versatile XD (‘International Truck of the Year 2023’) for distribution and specific applications and the ‘top-of-the-range’ XF, XG and XG+ (‘International Trucks of the Year 2022’) for heavy and long-distance transport. More and more fleets are switching to HVO as a way of reducing their carbon footprint. Even those adopting electric trucks can benefit by being able to move away from fossil fuels in their existing diesel-engine trucks.
“HVO can successfully complement the introduction of zero emission electric vehicles into a fleet by allowing a swift transition to renewables for fuelling existing vehicles,” says Adam Bennett, EV and Sustainability Manager for DAF Trucks UK, “And, in the battle to minimise global warming, the earliest interventions would be the most desirable course of action,” he says.
“DAF is at the forefront of our society’s ambition to reduce CO2 emissions”, according to Patrick Dean, chief engineer at DAF Trucks and member of the Board of Management. “In 2018 we were the first to launch a fully electric truck and last year we presented a completely new generation of electric trucks with ‘zero-emission’ ranges of up to 500 kilometres. HVO is enabling us to make a giant leap in the reduction of CO2emissions, already today, with the current trucks on the market and more importantly ‘well-to-wheel’. When it comes to CO2 certification of trucks, it would be a huge step forward if European legislation would value the contribution of clean fuels to reduce CO2 emissions, as we cannot afford to leave opportunities unused to achieve sustainable road transport. This should expand focus on the total chain – from energy source up to what’s coming out of the exhaust – instead of focusing on ‘tank-to-wheel’ only.”
