Volvo Group has joined forces with Westport Fuel Systems to work together on reducing carbon emissions from long-haul transport.

The two companies have signed a letter of intent to establish a joint venture to accelerate the commercialisation and global adoption of the latter company’s HPDI™ fuel system technology for long-haul and off-road applications.

Westport’s HPDI fuel system is a high-performance solution supporting “significant” carbon reductions in hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy duty and off-road mobility.

It offers end users affordable options that are powered by carbon-neural fuels like biogas, zero carbon fuels like green hydrogen and other renewable fuels.

Volvo, which is aiming to become net zero by 2040, will acquire a 45% interest in the joint venture for around $28 million (£22m), plus up to an additional $45 million (£35m) depending on the performance of the new venture.

Lars Stenqvist, Chief Technology Officer of Volvo said: “Decarbonisation with internal combustion engines running on renewable fuels, especially with HPDI, plays an important part in sustainable solutions.

“HPDI has been on the road in Volvo trucks for over five years and is a proven technology that allows customers to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in LBG (Liquefied Biogas) applications here and now and is a potential avenue for hydrogen.”

The joint venture is expected to launch in the first half of 2024.