Reducing congestion essential to help buses meet EU NOX targets

Tailpipe data firm Emission Analytics has issued a warning to bus and vehicle fleet owners planning to retrofit their vehicles with nitrogen oxide (NOX) reducing equipment, as stringent real-world analysis is need to ensure they meet the EU emission targets. The firm says the Department for Transport (DfT) support for local authorities with up to £500,000 of funding from its £5 million Clean Vehicle Technology Fund is a positive step. However, the methods by which it monitors the NOX produced needs to be
August 15, 2014 Read time: 3 mins

Tailpipe data firm Emission Analytics has issued a warning to bus and vehicle fleet owners planning to retrofit their vehicles with nitrogen oxide (NOX) reducing equipment, as stringent real-world analysis is need to ensure they meet the EU emission targets.

The firm says the 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) support for local authorities with up to £500,000 of funding from its £5 million Clean Vehicle Technology Fund is a positive step. However, the methods by which it monitors the NOX produced needs to be robust as the exhaust output suggested may not be close to the real-world figures.

Emission Analytics calculates that there is around a 22 per cent discrepancy on average between the estimated emissions and the real-world figures. Emission Analytics added that this disparity increases if roadside gas analysers are used, as they only record the ambient pollution. This means that local authorities could be inadvertently spending money on vehicles that fail to produce lower emissions.

CEO Nick Molden said, “Choosing a vehicle on the basis of its theoretical emissions, without understanding how it operates in the real world is a lottery. It is quite possible to select a vehicle that theoretically will help reduce NOX emissions, only to find that it has a negative impact.”

The study that Emission Analytics carried out, with 500 Imperial College London, showed correlation between lower speeds and more NOX being produced, and shorter bursts of acceleration also contributed. It adds that analysis of a light Euro-5 diesel engine showed that its real figures produced more than three times the Euro-5 threshold.

However, Eminox, which manufactures exhaust emission control systems for heavy-duty diesel vehicles, believes this may not be the case, as research carried out by King’s College London showed positive signs. Ninety three London buses retrofitted with its selective catalytic reduction system helped reduce kerbside NOX pollution by 23 per cent on Putney High Street.

Eminox admits that these figures, which included a 12 per cent decrease of NO2, could be further increased if less congestion was present on the roads.

The study suggested that over its three month trial in 2013, the results conclusively show that retrofitted SCR systems had helped to lower the NOX and NO2 levels, and could support delivery of the EU’s limit value threshold.

Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • SCATS study shows significant savings
    December 16, 2013
    Australian study quantifies the benefits of SCATS to the motorists, the environment and the economy. Opportunity weekday cost savings potential of some AUD16 million (US$15.2 million) has emerged from rigorous analysis of a one-day study of Australia’s Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) in operation. This represents 27% of the total cost of a real alternative semi-adaptive traffic control. The estimated indicative annual weekday-based value is AUD3,900 million (US$3,705 million) or 0.9% of t
    Read More
  • Real-world testing is needed in wake of VW emissions scandal, says expert
    November 18, 2015
    As vehicle manufacturers, regulators and governments around the world seek solutions to prevent another emissions cheating scandal similar to the Volkswagen case, a major vehicle emissions inspection company has compiled and analysed on-road emissions data indicating that emissions violations of vehicles under real-world driving conditions may well go far beyond VW diesels. Opus Inspection says a two-pronged approach that continuously monitors real-world emissions is the only effective remedy. Lothar Ge
    Read More
  • Live demonstrations at 2010 ITS annual meeting
    August 2, 2012
    The practical, day-to-day co-working which goes on at Houston TranStar will form a major part of the demonstrations at the 2010 Annual Meeting, says co-chair of the organising committee Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Chief of Police Thomas C. Lambert.
    Read More
  • Will driverless cars increase reliance on roads?
    February 29, 2016
    Researchers warn that driverless vehicles could intensify car use, reducing or even eliminating promised energy savings and environmental benefits. Development of autonomous driving systems has accelerated rapidly since the unveiling of Google’s driverless car in 2012, and energy efficiency due to improved traffic flow has been touted as one of the technology’s key advantages. However, new research by scientists from the University of Leeds, University of Washington and Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
    Read More

Highlighted Content