Scalpels, not sledgehammers, for clean air strategies

As cities mull diesel bans they risk losing out on what could prove a pivotal contribution to clean air targets. Since tighter vehicle test procedures kicked in across Europe, the real-world emissions levels from new diesel vehicles have dropped dramatically. Independent testing specialist Emissions Analytics believes that greater transparency on the real driving emissions (RDE) figures could steer shoppers - and policy makers - in a new direction. RDE kicks in The new RDE test came into force in Europe last autumn. It adds an on-road component to the WLTP lab tests and measures pollutants such as NOx. There is also an element of random testing, which keeps the manufacturers on their toes. “The manufacturers have to be seriously cautious about what the cars do on the road. If one of these surveillance bodies catches them out, the fines are huge,” said Nick Molden, Emissions Analytics Founder and Chief Executive. The message has been received. The company’s own independent testing has uncovered some very low-emission diesel models. Emissions Analytics estimates that before RDE, the average Euro 6 diesel was actually emitting about 400 mg/km NOx; the regulated limit is 168 mg/km. Now it is seeing vehicles deliver between 20 and 40mg/km – well below requirements. “This has been a big step forward. When engineering their cars, the OEMs are erring very strongly on the side of caution,” Molden told Greenstreetsoftware.info. “Before RDE it was all a sport of how much you could optimise your vehicles for the lab more than for the actual levels of pollution while driving. Now it's almost flipped around.” Refining strategies As a result, the latest clean diesels are frequently cleaner than their gasoline counterparts. Driven away from diesel by the bad publicity, many shoppers are opting for these higher emission models on the mistaken assumption that they are better for the environment. To complicate the situation, there is considerable variance of performance within the diesel and gasoline categories. Some diesel cars out there today may have slashed their NOx down to 20 mg/km but others are still emitting up to 800mg/km. The key is to convey the statistics on specific models to both consumers and the government to inform shopping decisions and policy, respectively. “You want to take a scalpel to the problem - you do not want to ban all diesels or all internal combustion engines (ICE). You just want to ban the ones that are very dirty,” clarified Molden. “Quite a high proportion of diesels are dirty. You would probably need to restrict at least half, but that's better than a blanket ban on everything. These bans at the moment are also punishing the OEMs that are doing the right thing. They may have sorted out the problem but the government policy needs to be refined to reflect that.” EQUA Index Emissions Analytics’ EQUA Index has been identifying the cleanest and dirties models since its launch two years ago. It independently sources vehicles from OEMs and puts them through four hours of rigorous testing. The information is accessible for fleets, consumers and cities, but it doesn’t appear on new vehicle labels anywhere. “We are working on that,” added Molden. “We need a way to convey this information to consumers.” The testing specialist is looking for increasingly active participation with the Index from vehicle manufacturers. It not only offers a way for them to track their performance and see how they compare to rivals but also a potential marketing tool. If a new vehicle performs particularly well, brands may wish to obtain an EQUA rating and use it in their launch material. Impressive credentials from an independent body could carry considerable weight in today’s environment. Emissions Analytics remains technology agnostic in its quest for cleaner cities. “I just like good data and clean cars,” said Molden. “It is not about the tech per se. Cities know they have to do something. Air quality is a political hot potato. We need the OEMs to come out more officially and start using it. If not, it could lead to more draconian bans.” Eye on particulates Testing procedures are tough today but they could grow tougher as they tackle air quality from new angles. Molden thinks the looming problem of particulate emissions, which has so far taken a back seat to the NOx question, could soon come under the spotlight. “The problem of ultrafine particles largely arises from gasoline cars. We see the particle number from gasoline is ten to 100 times higher than from a diesel. How does a city deal with that question?” asks Molden. If the market starts switching back to gasoline in big numbers, particle numbers could go up. “Do they then start to ban gasoline as well? Looking ahead, particles are going to cloud the clean air issue from a city point of view," he cautioned. "They are going to play an increasingly important role in this debate."

Considering the massive difference between the best and worst diesels on the market, are blanket bans harmful to air quality? Megan Lampinen investigates the alternatives

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