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Cespira sees Q4 production start for latest version of HPDI
Fuel injection system can run on various forms of natural gas
The next step for Cespira, the Volvo and Westport Fuel Systems joint venture, is to expand the HPDI 3.0 system to support hydrogen, methanol and ethanol. (Westport Fuel Systems)
Key Takeaways:
- Cespira plans to begin production of its HPDI 3.0 fuel system in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- The system can operate on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas and is being developed for additional fuels.
- Truck manufacturers used IAA Transportation to call for faster expansion of hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
HANNOVER, Germany — Cespira is set to begin production of the latest version of its high-pressure direct injection fuel system for internal combustion engines in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The Volvo Group joint venture expects the first trucks equipped with the HPDI 3.0 system to enter service in early 2027. Cespira unveiled the third-generation fuel management technology at the IAA Transportation conference. The latest iteration features a new fuel rail pressure-control architecture designed to improve fuel economy and engine performance while simplifying calibration for original equipment manufacturers, the company said.
HPDI 3.0 can operate on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas. The next step for the Volvo and Westport Fuel Systems joint venture is expanding the system to support hydrogen, methanol and ethanol.
Like another Volvo Group hydrogen venture, fuel cell manufacturer Cellcentric, Cespira is intended to be an OEM-agnostic supplier.
Volvo Group will be Cespira’s first hydrogen internal combustion engine customer. In June, the joint venture announced a development agreement with the parent company of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks to enable its 13-liter engine platform to run on hydrogen.
On-road testing
Volvo-branded trucks powered by hydrogen internal combustion engines began on-road testing in the spring. According to Cespira, the vehicles are scheduled for commercial launch in Europe before 2030.
Adaptability is one of the HPDI system’s key strengths, Westport CEO Dan Sceli told Transport Topics in June.
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HPDI 3.0 can operate on compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas. (Cespira)
“The HPDI system itself, it doesn’t care which natural gas it is, whether it’s liquid, compressed, renewable. And it can also run the same system on hydrogen. And then even better, it can run on a blend. The blend is the really neat thing [because] we’ve learned through some research that we can blend hydrogen into the CNG or the LNG and it runs just fine,” he said.
Widespread adoption of hydrogen-powered truck engines, however, will require significant expansion of fueling infrastructure in Europe and North America.
Europe’s largest truck manufacturers, including Volvo Group, used IAA Transportation to renew calls for a faster buildout of hydrogen infrastructure and fuel supplies.
“We need all of these technologies to be successful. But we need them at scale, and we need corporations, and we need a synchronized uplift when it comes to the ecosystem,” Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt said during a Sept. 15 briefing at the event.
Decarbonization deadlines
Daimler Truck CEO Karin Rådström, who appeared alongside Lundstedt, told a separate IAA audience that the parent company of Freightliner and Western Star wants European authorities to delay certain decarbonization deadlines.
European customers, like their North American counterparts, are delaying investments in zero-emission trucks because of limited charging and fueling infrastructure and the lack of cost parity with diesel. The trend is even more pronounced in North America.
