Volvo Penta Expands Commitment to WWF

Volvo Penta is expanding its commitment to the WWF Climate Savers program by including its medium-duty engines. 

The marine D8 IMO III engine range will now be included in the company’s fuel-saving commitment.

Since 2014 Volvo Penta has been a member of the WWF Climate Savers program, as part of the wider Volvo Group pledge. The purpose of the program, which is run by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), is to encourage business and industry to make pledges that reduce their impact on the environment.

“The Climate Saver Program goes hand in hand with our vision to become the world leader in sustainable power solutions,” says Cecilia Gunnarsson, environmental director at Volvo Penta. “We have made a pledge to promote environmental awareness, develop efficient new technologies and encourage sustainable development.”

Volvo Penta is committed in three ways:
1.When new legislation for NOx and Particulate Matter comes into force the ambition is to launch engines with 2% improved fuel efficiency (on average). The target was recently expanded to also include medium-duty engines (marine D8 IMO III and industrial off-road D5 and D8).

2.To increase the use of its Volvo Penta Inboard Performance System (IPS) for Marine Commercial, a state-of-the-art technology that delivers up to 30% reduced fuel consumption and 30% less CO2 emissions (versus inboard shafts).

3.To advance its electromobility development.

“A Climate Savers company is committed to becoming ‘best in class’ in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing climate positive approaches. It’s encouraging to see that Volvo Penta has made substantial progress in reducing its carbon footprint,” says Mats Landén, senior manager corporate partnerships at the WWF.

In 2020, Volvo Penta will expand its engine range to meet IMO III emissions regulation and to include the company’s D8 for Diesel Inboard, Marine Genset and Auxiliary applications. Volvo Penta has worked on making its D8 IMO III package more efficient, with the target of an average fuel saving of 2% (compared to IMO II). The company has been able to fulfill IMO III targets reducing NOx levels up to 75% (compared to IMO II) while maintaining low fuel consumption thanks to Selective Catalytic Reduction. Engine power output remains unaffected.

The introduction of Volvo Penta IPS into the Marine Commercial segment is also propelling Volvo Penta along its WWF Climate Savers journey. As a concrete example, Volvo Penta has powered eight vessels for Njord Offshore during the last three years. These engines have accumulated over 250,000 hours and saved on average a total of 20% in fuel and 8,375 tons of CO2.

“Volvo Penta's commitment to meeting targets has been outstanding since 2014,” remarked Landén. “Recently, the company’s strong progress has been related to the growth of Volvo Penta IPS in the commercial marine vessels.”

But Volvo Penta has gone one step further. When using the company’s IMO III solution for Volvo Penta IPS together with Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – the company can further reduce greenhouse gases by 50-90% depending on fuel production methods.

“All this culminates to form a win-win, both for the environment and our customers,” adds Gunnarsson. “We see a reduction in the emission levels and fuel consumption, which not only reduces CO2 and NOx output into the atmosphere but also the total cost of ownership for the customer.”