Rigorous test track and test rig trials of Daimler Trucks’ first new enhanced hydrogen fuel cell-powered tractor unit prototype, the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck began in late April, the Stuttgart-based company has announced.

Results of the previously announced collaborative study on the effectiveness of Tula’s diesel Dynamic Skip Fire control software – an advanced cylinder deactivation control system - in reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on a Cummins X15 HD Efficiency Series diesel engine have been released at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress that took place in April in Detroit, by Cummins Inc of Columbus, Indiana and Tula Technology Inc, a specialist in propulsion efficiency, based in San Jose, California.

Apollo Tyres Ltd of Gurugram, has received approval with ISO/IEC 17025 for wet grip and coast-by (run by) noise tyre tests on its track situated in Oragadam, Chennai, which is supported by the Global Automotive Research Centre (GARC) of Chennai to introduce tyre labelling and certification tests in India.

Volvo Trucks North America Inc of Greenboro, North Carolina, in announcing the supply of a Volvo VNR Electric to Quality Custom Distribution - the first zero-emission, battery-electric truck to be deployed in QCD’s fleet of more than 700 vehicles – has also announced production of the Class 8 electric truck slated to begin in early 2021 at the company’s New River Valley manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia.

A project researching an aerodynamically optimised articulated tractor-trailer combination initiated by Dutch international food producer, Vion NV of Boxtel, The Netherlands, started trials on German roads in mid-March with expectations of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 8%.

Linamar Corporation of Livonia, Michigan has entered the evaluation phase for its first Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle delivery vans with UPS in California. They are part of a technology contract with the Centre for Transportation and the Environment which is managing the Next Generation Fuel Cell Delivery Van Deployment Project for the California Air Resources Board.

In preparation for its spin-off from Daimler AG and an independent listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange planned for late 2021, Daimler Truck AG has announced the composition of its new Board of Management and a series of significant management and organisational changes, set to take place as of July 1, 2021.

The Department of Energy in the United States of America has announced availability of USD100m, over four years, regarding the SuperTruck 3 programme and additional funding for low greenhouse gas vehicles.

ROCSYS, Grivix GmbH and VDL Enabling Transport Solutions are working together to develop a robotic charging solution for Heavy Duty Charging under the grant-funded Eurostars project, Autocharge.

Westport Fuel Systems Inc, the Vancouver-based fuel systems specialist has begun initial trials of a heavy-duty internal combustion engine running on hydrogen (H2) fuel, using its patented and proprietary High Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) 2.0 system.

Bearing specialist, SKF Group of Gothenburg to reduce its use of fossil fuels, is to test a self-driving electric truck together with Stockholm-based technology company, Einride AB, on a public road between the factory and the warehouse in Gothenburg. Einride which builds complete vehicles was the first company in the world to operate an electric self-driving truck on public roads for commercial purposes in 2018.

Westport Fuel Systems Inc of Vancouver, Canada and AVL, the Austrian-headquartered independent specialist in development, simulation and testing of powertrain systems, have jointly released a report entitled: ‘Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Analysis for Heavy Duty Hydrogen Fuelled Powertrains.’