Iveco has been trialling an 18-metre long articulated Stralis truck running on LNG (liquefied natural gas).
The trial, run in Italy in conjunction with logistics company SMET, was aimed at delivering reductions in vehicle running costs, environmental impact and traffic congestion. The testing also allowed SMET and Iveco to evaluate the compatibility of 18-metre-long articulated trucks on the road infrastructure and their parking manouvreability.
Iveco claims that “the results exceeded expectations,” with the combination of 18-metre truck and LNG fuel source delivering significant advantages compared with traditional diesel trucks, both in terms of the total cost of ownership and environmental impact.
Similar experiments are also underway in other European countries including the Czech Republic, Germany and the UK.
Iveco claims that its Natural Gas vehicles reduce particulate emissions, NOx emissions and CO2 emissions, as well as reduced noise compared to equivalent diesel vehicles. With Natural Gas being cheaper than diesel, Iveco claims that fuel costs can be reduced by up to 40%.