Volvo Trucks in North America will partner with Safeway Inc., one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, and Oberon Fuels to test heavy-duty commercial vehicles powered by dimethyl ether (DME) produced from biomass. The project received $500,000 in funding from California’s San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) and will be the second customer field test conducted by Volvo Trucks in the U.S.

Volvo Trucks today became the first manufacturer to announce plans to commercialize dimethyl ether (DME)-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America. As the latest step in its comprehensive “Blue Power” alternative fuel strategy, Volvo revealed ongoing U.S. customer field testing of trucks powered by DME, and demonstrated the technology after an announcement at the California State Capitol.

Volvo Trucks’ 2013 rolling memorial truck will join a motorcade traveling from Volvo’s New River Valley (NRV) assembly plant in Dublin, Va. to the nation’s capital during Memorial Day weekend.