Actualités sur le rétrofit et la qualité de l’air en Europe
UK releases Final Report on Feasibility of a NOx Retrofit Certification Scheme
06/12/2011
On 24 November 2011 the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released the final version of their study investigating the feasibility of a NOx Retrofit Certification Scheme for heavy-duty vehicles.
The report is intended to present Defra and the Department for Transport (DfT) with evidence to help form a decision about establishing a national certification scheme. Details of the draft report were given in earlier news of 1 August 2011. The final version notes that a scheme incorporating certification to Euro V standards is potentially more ambitious than one certifying only to Euro IV but concerns exist for allowing multiple emissions standards as well as it being technically difficult to retrofit or adjust Euro IV vehicles to meet Euro V. It also notes that as a number of manufacturers provide devices that jointly abate NOx and PM, certification of devices for both pollutants could be beneficial.
Regarding the UNECE work on a Regulation for retrofit (REC), the final report notes that “Given that the UNECE Regulation is still being developed and there are uncertainties over timescales, abatement equipment suppliers have indicated that it could be advantageous for the UK to develop its own certification scheme and in parallel to take a lead in the UNECE discussions for finalising the Regulation, using the UK scheme to steer negotiations of the Regulation. However, representatives from the DfT have indicated that they do not expect it to be feasible to develop a UK scheme early enough in order to influence the UNECE decisions.”
More info: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/reports/cat09/1111241413_29600_DeNOx_Final_Report_i4.pdf
Hungary issues Rules for Heavy-duty DPF Retrofits
05/12/2011
Hungary has notified the European Commission of rules for retrofit particulate filters for heavy-duty vehicles, particularly coaches.
The notification says that the development of detailed rules is required for retrofitting particle emission reduction systems (particle filters) because several large cities in a number of European countries have established "Low Emission Zones" (LEZ). In Germany, the definitions, requirements, inspection methods and procedures related to retrofitted filters are summarised in Appendix XXVII to the Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO). The Hungarian requirement system is based on this since there is a major objective of allowing domestic vehicles (primarily tourist buses) to enter German LEZs. LEZs are expected to be established in large Hungarian cities in the near future and therefore certificates for the retrofitting of particle filters will be required in Hungary as well.
The requirements will be implemented through a National Development Minister’s Decree on the modification of the KöHÉM Decree No. 5/1990. (IV. 12.) on technical inspections of road transport vehicles and KöHÉM Decree No 6/1990 (IV. 12.) on technical requirements for placing into, and maintaining in circulation of road transport vehicles.
Austrian Traffic Club calls for Low Emission Zones in Vienna and Graz
05/12/2011
VCÖ, the Austrian traffic club, has called for the rapid introduction of environmental zones in Vienna and Graz, saying that after the Berlin LEZ introduction, diesel soot emissions reduced by half.
VCÖ says that environmental zones mean that the fleet is renewed more rapidly or old vehicles and construction equipment have to be retrofitted with particulate filters. In addition, more people use public transport, which is possible in large cities such as Graz and Vienna, where there is a dense public transport network.
UK Parliament Report on Air Quality calls for LEZs and Retrofit Certification
21/11/2011
The UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee report on air quality, published on 14 November 2011, says that the government has “failed to get to grips” with air pollution.
The new report says that “over the past year the evidence of the damage caused by air pollution has grown stronger. But the UK is still failing to meet European targets for safe air pollution limits across many parts of the country. The step change called for has not happened. The Government has failed to get to grips with this issue. Most of the measures set out in its response to our predecessors' report are yet to be brought in. Forty out of the UK's 43 assessment zones are failing to meet EU targets and poor air quality is now found to be shortening the lives of up to 200 000 people by an average of 2 years. The Government must not continue to put the health of the nation at risk.”
The committee says that they can see no circumstances in which delaying or reducing the EU limit values for NOx would be acceptable. The Government must set out how it intends to achieve EU targets and must, in its response to the report, say whether or not it intends to push for less stringent targets when EU air quality legislation is reviewed during 2013.
The report calls for the government to put improving air quality into the business plan for the environment department (Defra), to set up a Cabinet Office lead Ministerial Group to oversee delivery of a new cross government air quality strategy, to set out to local authority leaders the risks of failing to act to improve air quality, and “as a matter of urgency” to establish a national framework of low emissions zones supported by a national certification scheme of retrofit technologies.
Retrofitting is a fast-acting solution to minimise particulate emissions from diesel exhausts, and to make older vehicle engines meet current and future emission standards, the report says. Although the Government concluded, in its application for an extension to the EU PM10 limit date, that a mass diesel retrofitting programme would not be cost beneficial, the committee notes that several other EU countries such as France and the Netherlands offer direct incentives for retrofitting buses or heavy-duty vehicles.
More info: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmenvaud/1024/102402.htm
Denmark to require Foreign Trucks to display Low-Pollution Labels
06/09/2011
Starting on 1 November 2011, Denmark will require all foreign commercial vehicles to display Danish environmental labels before they can be driven into four densely populated urban areas.
The new rules, which were detailed in a statement from the Environment Ministry on 1 July 2011, will apply to all diesel-powered vehicles entering the cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, and Odense. The requirement will affect foreign companies making deliveries in Denmark as well as haulage companies and operators of other commercial vehicles such as tourist buses. It will apply only to designated environmental zones covering each city's central area.
Currently, all Danish-registered vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes that do not conform to Euro IV emissions standards are banned from these zones, but foreign-registered vehicles are exempt. Under the new rules, owners of foreign vehicles will have to apply for a label certifying that their vehicles’ engines meet Euro IV requirements or, for older models, have a certificate confirming that the vehicles have been retrofitted with a qualifying particulate filter.
UK Report on Feasibility of NOx Retrofit Certification Scheme
01/08/2011
The UK’s Environment Department (Defra) has issued a draft report for technical comment on “an investigation into the feasibility of developing a certification scheme for technology retrofitted to HDVs to abate NOx emissions”.
The report, prepared by AMEC Environment & Infrastructure UK Ltd., covers three broad subject areas – emissions standards and abatement techniques, administering a national certification scheme, and options available for enforcement of any future Low Emission Zones or other schemes that use a national certification scheme. It reports on the development of a UNECE Regulation on retrofit, but says that, given uncertainties over timescales, it could be advantageous for the UK to develop its own certification scheme and in parallel take a lead in the UNECE discussions. Discussions at a workshop in May 2011 indicated that it could be best for the UK to develop its own standards with UNECE assistance. The section on enforcement concludes that it would be advantageous for there to be a harmonised certification scheme across the EU and this supports the argument for the UK to actively contribute to the UNECE discussions.
The report concludes that any scheme would most likely need to certify equipment against a percentage mass emissions reduction of NOx and NO2 - with separate quantitative requirements for N2O and ammonia – from which equivalency to Euro standards could be inferred. A table of the required percentage emissions reductions to go from one Euro Stage to another is provided. The reports makes it clear that due to the overall NOx reductions achieved by SCR, NO2 mass emissions do not increase and NO2 is abated by the same proportion as NOx. However it says there are conflicting claims about NO2 as a percentage of NOx with both SCR and SCR-DPF systems. Regarding N2O, stakeholders indicated support for a limit framed in terms of CO2-equivalent emissions, taking into account the global warming potential of N2O. Transport for London adopted a 1% limit on this basis in their trials.
A certification scheme would also need to ensure the effectiveness of retrofitted equipment over additional duty cycles as compared to those used for Type Approval, the report says. Stakeholders indicated support for chassis- rather than engine-based testing and at a workshop expressed support for the adoption of the Euro VI test cycle.
Most stakeholders have indicated support for the scheme to cover all heavy-duty vehicles with implementation as early as practicable. Such a scheme could provide a framework for local authorities to vary their requirements regarding vehicle types and pollutants. As a number of manufacturers produce devices that jointly abate NOx and PM emissions, certification for both pollutants could be beneficial, the report says. It does, however, note the difficulties of upgrading Euro IV vehicles to Euro V. There are differing opinions on the feasibility of retrofitting SCR to vehicles already fitted with PM abatement.
The report discounts EGR and LNT as viable options due to “technical constraints/concerns and lack of evidence of successful retrofitting to HDVs” (heavy duty vehicles). “SCR appears to be able to achieve NOx emission reductions exceeding 70% based on experience to date in retrofitting of SCR to buses (and exceeding 80% in cases except heavy traffic). There is uncertainty in the NOx emission reduction potential for other HDVs, although experience with one heavy goods vehicle demonstrated >70% NOx reduction.” The report notes that concerns on real-world emissions can be addressed by tuning SCR systems for specific test cycles.
Regarding a national certification scheme, the report says that the processes already in place for the London LEZ and the Reduced Pollution Certificate (RPC) appear to have been largely successful and could form the basis for a national scheme. It notes that enforcement of the use of de-NOx retrofits is more difficult that for PM abatement systems because of the need for a consumable reagent (AdBlue®). Stakeholders – including local authorities – have given support for a “light touch” enforcement option including driver aid warning lights and the possibility of using annual certification to determine if the equipment has been correctly functioning.
The report is open for comments until 19 August 2011 and is available from Defra
More info: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/reports?report_id=668
EC and Switzerland agree Swiss Rebate for DPF-Retrofitted Trucks
29/07/2011
On 23 July 2011 Decision No. 1/2011 of the Community/Switzerland Inland Transport Committee was published in the EU’s Official journal.
The decision concerns the Swiss performance-based fee on heavy goods vehicle traffic and permits a rebate of 10% of the fee for Euro II and Euro III vehicles that are fitted with approved DPFs. The rebate will be granted only to vehicles with an entry in the vehicle registration certificate or with an equivalent certificate from the national authorities that confirms it has been retrofitted with an approved particulate reduction system, in accordance with Swiss legislation or that of the Member State in which the vehicle is registered. The system must give compliance at least with the Euro IV emission limit of 0.02 g/kWh PM.
By 30 September 2011, the authorities in the EU Member State where the vehicle is registered have to endeavour to transmit to the Swiss authorities a specimen of the entry of the particulate filter system in the vehicle registration certificate or equivalent certificate and to have confirmed that the specimen ensures compliance with the Euro IV limit value.
Particulate Filters fitted to Lake Zurich Ships
08/07/2011
The General Navigation Company of Lake Zürich (ZSG) has announced that it has now equipped all the motor vessels in its fleet with particulate filters. The measure is part of the strategy of the Zurich Transport Association ZVV to provide more energy efficient and environmentally friendly transport.
Since August 2010, particulate filters have been mandatory for all new ships and, wherever feasible and economically viable for the existing fleet. ZSG decided five years ago to equip its entire fleet of 15 boats with particulate filters and the final one, the "Zimmerberg" is now in service.
The material costs for the equipment of vessels amounted to around 1.3 million Swiss francs. Installation takes up to 20 working days per ship.