Transport Companies' Drive to Reduce Fuel Consumption

For a second year in a row, FPInnovations ­ Feric and Robert Transport would like to announce very promising results for the Energotest 2008 campaign, conducted as part of the PIT (Project Innovation Transport) program, in conjunction with Robert Transport. The objective of this series of tests was to provide specific information on technological solutions for reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by road transport.

Today's economic turmoil and financial challenges have sparked a great interest among transport companies for solutions that can reduce fuel consumption and fleet operating costs. FPInnovations ­ Feric and Robert Transport, in collaboration with the Ministère des Transports du Québec, the Agence de l'efficacité énergétique du Québec, Transport Canada and Natural Resources Canada, assembled the fleets of SLH, Bison, Hervé Lemieux, Bourassa and SAQ to test a dozen technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency and lowering GHG emissions in the trucking industry.

The Energotest campaign made it possible to obtain reliable data on the performance of 12 technologies and various practices chosen by PIT members. Aerodynamic accessories once again performed well and achieved fuel economies over 7%. The importance in the way an accessory is installed was also pointed out. The same accessory installed properly could see its fuel economy performance jump from 0% to 7,5%.

"The current economic situation and the environmental challenges we face have forced transport companies to find solutions for improving their energy efficiency and boosting their competitiveness," said Yves Provencher, Business Development Director at FPInnovations ­ Feric. "With an activity such as Energotest 2008 and the PIT program, the trucking industry has the opportunity to get specific information on the return on investment of these technologies."

Source: FPInnovations - Feric division