Emerald Technology Partners is preparing to test a new refrigeration system that it says will eliminate the use of fossil fuels and still maintain a cool operating environment for refrigerated loads.

The Wedway Refrigeration Power System does this through kinetic energy. For all of us who remember learning about kinetic energy in school but never thought there would be a need to use it again, kinetic energy is the energy that is stored in an object while it is motion. That energy remains constant until the velocity of the object is changed. more

One of the great advantages of the Volvo I-Shift automated mechanical transmission is its ease of use. Many drivers entering the driver workforce these days no longer have the experience operating a standard transmission vehicle.

As a result, more and more fleets are finding they either have to spend valuable time training new drivers – and losing those trainees who find it too difficult to learn how to drive a manual – or purchasing a vehicle equipped with an automatic or automated transmission.

I am like many of these new drivers – no experience with a manual truck transmission. In fact, I have no experience with an automatic or automated truck transmission either. So I think I am a perfect representative to speak to how easy it is to drive one of Volvo’s trucks equipped with an I-Shift.

The answer: It’s much like driving my “little” SUV, just a little bigger.

I had the chance to test-drive a Volvo FH16 750, a 750-horsepower cabover, just introduced in Europe at the beginning of September, during a press event this week in Gothenburg, Sweden. Having never driven a big rig like this one, coupled to a semi-trailer, the I-Shift allowed me to speed right through that learning curve.

Now by no means am I a professional truck driver – in fact I barely touched 60 km on my short test-track journey, but not having to worry about getting the vehicle into the correct gear meant I could focus on the truly important chores at hand – not driving the vehicle off the edge of the road or hitting anything, or anybody, on the corners.

The transmission has a number of driver-friendly features, including a very smooth engine brake that downshifts the vehicle several gears at a time while allowing the driver to maintain the same control as under normal driving conditions.

Of course, there is a hill-start aid that gives the driver 1 ½ seconds to press the accelerator before the truck starts moving – in either direction. And the automatic gear selection skips unnecessary gears while accelerating – in all, only six of the 12 speeds are needed to reach highway speed.

Add in the fuel efficiency gains achieved with an I-Shift – as much as 1.5% - and it’s clear to see why we are starting to see a slow shift away from manual transmissions.

Even someone inexperienced like myself can see the advantages, which should only serve to open more doors to careers in truck driving for the younger generation.

A new research and development agreement in California could turn the Los Angeles area into the first commercial market for dimethyl ether (DME) as a transportation fuel.

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Oberon Fuels, a low-emissions alternative fuels company, will jointly work on research and development of the first commercial DME facility in the U.S. The facility will be located in Southern California and will produce DME, which when combusted in an optimized engine can produce a clean fuel. more

According to an article in China Daily, Chinese heavy-duty truck maker Beiqi Foton Motor Co. is planning a vehicle for the U.S. and Western European market. The Auman GTL (which stands for global technology leader) was designed for the strict environmental requirements of the U.S. and Europe, the company said.

“Foton has already established a good presence in the Southeast Asian, South American and African markets, but it barely achieved anything in developed economies,” Wang Jinyu, president & CEO, told China Daily. “Now we are endeavoring to enter the mature markets including the U.S., Europe and Japan.”

According to Wang, the vehicle includes high-quality materials similar to those found in U.S. trucks and cost $266 million to develop. more

With the announcement today that cars and light trucks will be expected to achieve an average Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 54.5 mpg by 2025, the impact will be felt in many ways.

Yes, it will lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Yes, it will help clean up the environment, especially as more automakers build hybrid and electric vehicles in response. Yes, drivers will ultimately use less fuel, which means fewer dollars spent at the pump for consumers. But that comes at a price - a price that needs to be addressed.

If less fuel is purchased, that means fewer dollars in gas taxes will be collected. The impact, of course, is that with fewer taxes collected, there will be fewer dollars available for infrastructure maintenance and improvements. That is a little publicized problem that needs to be addressed as mpg improves. Currently, CAFE requires all vehicles sold to average 27.3 mpg; that will rise to 34.1 by 2017, and then increase 5% per year through 2025. With all the fuel sold and taxes collected now at the 27.3 standard, we still can’t find a way to adequately fund our infrastructure projects. If we could, we’d already have a multi-year highway reauthorization bill. more

As many in the country have sweltered under extreme temperatures this summer, fans and air conditioners have been running full blast. The same is true for a/c devices in both cars and trucks.

For drivers, especially professional drivers who spend so much of their time in their vehicles, air conditioning may not be a luxury. The last thing anyone wants is a driver hauling 80,000 lbs. down the highway, completely exhausted because he’s spent the past six hours sitting inside a 100-deg. cab. The results could be deadly.

But what do drivers do if their cab – and their temperament – are running a little hot? The quick fix comes in a can of R-134a. But in the eyes of at least one expert, the quick fix could do much more damage to your vehicle than it’s worth. more

I’ve driven the long road up Mt. Washington in Pinkham Notch, NH. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. The twists and turns along the road on the way to the top of the 6,288-ft. summit leave you perilously close to the edge at times.

Traversing this 7.6-mi. route over a road that alternates between serpentine tarmac and gravel is impressive enough. Doing it in just 8:02 is unbelievable. But that’s exactly what stunt driver Mike Ryan accomplished recently. more

Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined Peterbilt Motors Co. executives at Peterbilt’s Denton, TX, plant for a bill-signing ceremony where Perry put his signature to a bill that will expand the natural gas infrastructure in the state of Texas.

Senate Bill 20 establishes a natural gas transportation corridor in the rapidly expanding Texas Triangle, which encompasses Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The bill will increase the number of natural gas refueling station to support the use of natural gas powered trucks. more

McDonald’s is planning to convert its entire 80-plus truck fleet in the United Arab Emirates to run on 100% biodiesel, it said.

The fast-food giant, in cooperation with Neutral Fuels, will be using its own used vegetable oil as the base stock for the fuel. more

Since port truck replacement programs are in the news this week, it seems fitting that one program, along the Mid-Atlantic region, is forming.

Four states (Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) have joined forces with the University of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA) to create a new program designed to assist truck operators working in drayage operations in replacing their older trucks.

“We no longer want our ports to be the place where old trucks go to die,” says Joanne Throwe, the director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, which is coordinating the new effort. “It’s not just the air around the port that suffers – it’s the routes the trucks follow throughout the region.” more