Volvo Trucks' plant in Ghent, Belgium, is completely free from carbon dioxide (CO₂), according to the company. "Our ambition is to make all our plants CO₂-free plants and Ghent is the first," says Volvo CEO Leif Johansson. "It is not an easy undertaking, but we are prepared to try different alternatives to achieve our goal for CO₂-free production in our plants."

The Volvo Group's efforts pertaining to CO₂-free plants are fully in line with EU's goal for reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by 20% in Europe by 2020.

In order to not add any carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, the Ghent plant will investment in wind power and biofuel to provide the plant with electricity and heat. Three wind power plants will be constructed on the site, which will cover half of the plant's electricity requirements. The remaining electricity consists of certified green energy supplied by the Belgium energy company, Electrabel.

A new pellet-fired biomass plant supplies 70% of the heating requirements for the Ghent plant and energy for the combustion process is provided by solar cells on the roof. The remaining 30% is provided by an oil-fired boiler that was converted to burn bio oil.

The Ghent plant, which employs 2,500, has an annual production of 35,000 trucks.

Additionally Volvo Trucks is transforming its plants in Tuv and Umeå, in Sweden into a CO₂-free vehicle plants.

For more information on Volvo Trucks' environmental work in Ghent, please visit: http://www.volvotrucks.com/environment