Volvo North America has selected high-performance exhaust gas recirculation (HEGR) as the primary NO_x emissions control and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) for particulate control for its EPA 07-compliant engines.

For Europe, Volvo is introducing a new line of engines offering Euro-4 and Euro-5 compliance through SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction). (Earlier post.)

Volvo already has tens of thousands of trucks with EGR systems in operation on North American highways. The engines for 2007 will simply use a higher rate of EGR to achieve the lower NO_x emissions required by the EPA. All of Volvo’s 2007 engines are designed to use the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel mandated by the U.S. government to be available in the second half of 2006.

In addition to the emissions reductions solutions, Volvo NA’s 2007 engine family will include the following key hardware:

• Advanced, high-pressure fuel injection with multiple injections per stroke

• Increased peak cylinder pressures

• Single-stage variable geometry turbocharger (VGT)

• Reinforced base engine components to handle internal loads

• High-capacity cooling system fully integrated into truck design

• Advanced centrifugal crankcase ventilation

The current Volvo D16 is the first example of this new engine architecture.

Our testing indicates that the new family of engines will maintain the level of fuel economy demonstrated by the current Volvo D12, while delivering driveability even better than the D12’s already excellent performance. We are taking full advantage of our EPA’02 experience to optimize the 2007 engine family for our customers.

—Peter Karlsten, president and CEO of Volvo Trucks North America