Spain’s privately owned transportation company Disfrimur, dedicated to road haulage and logistics, is working with the Technical University of Cartagena on a project to reduce transportation’s carbon footprint through the use of alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen in diesel engines.
Disfrimur has provided the Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering of the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT) with the engine of an Iveco truck. This engine will go to the test bench of the Research Laboratory Vehicle Systems (SiVeLab) located in the center of Development and Technological Innovation (CEDIT) which is located in the Technology Park of Fuente Alamo, for engine trials and analysis.
The system being tested is a Iveco Cursor 10 six-cylinder 450 hp with emissions control technology designed to meet the Euro 5 standard; this engine drives the Iveco Stralis heavy duty long haul tractor.
“The purpose of the collaboration of the company with the UPCT is the development of technological innovation projects for the engines of their vehicles to operate with energy efficiency through the use of additives and new accessories, and help reduce the carbon footprint through use of alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen”, summarizes the researcher Jose Hernandez Grau.
The test bed will be installed where the given engine is equipped with a dynamometer for up to 375 kW and 2420 Nm of torque, and allows testing of engines that consume methane, hydrogen gaseous fuels and liquid fuels (diesel) according to emission control regulations.
The incorporation of subsequent innovations will enable the company to operate a cleaner fleet. The Disfrimur fleet of 500 vehicles is performing 60 million kilometers a year, equivalent to five times round the world every day, and it is proposed that 400 of these vehicles will incorporate natural gas vehicle technology. The medium term aim of Disfrimur is to reach the “zero emissions”, i.e. be neutral in the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere through the measurement, reduction and offsetting.
Disfrimur is the first company Murcia recorded in the Register of Carbon Footprint of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment and is certified with the highest distinction of 5 stars ‘ECOSTARS’ of the European Union concerning the environmental commitment of companies in the transport sector.
(Source: UPCT)
