June 2019
Draft Amendments to EU Regulation on Heavy Duty Vehicle Emissions Published
On 17th May 2019, the European Commission published a draft Regulation containing proposed amendments to EU Regulation No. 582/2011, which is the Implementing Regulation for the Euro VI emissions requirements on heavy duty vehicles. The amendments proposed in this draft Regulation, which the European Commission refer to as Euro VI Step E, can be summarised as follows:
- Auxiliary emission strategies (AES) - The draft Regulation proposes the introduction of new requirements on auxiliary emission strategies (AES), which are aligned with those introduced into the EU Regulation on light duty vehicle emissions, (EU) No. 2017/1151, by EU Regulation No. 2018/1832. These new requirements specify the declarations and extended documentation package that must be provided by the manufacturer and introduce a methodology for the assessment of auxiliary emission strategies (AES).
- Access to repair and maintenance information (RMI) - Now that the EU requirements on the access to vehicle OBD information and vehicle repair and maintenance information (RMI) have been included in the new EU Regulation on type approval and market surveillance, (EU) No. 2018/858, this draft Regulation proposes removing the RMI requirements from (EU) No. 582/2011.
- "Cold start" emissions - In the current requirements for portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) testing, it is specified that "any cold start emissions may be removed from the emissions evaluation". However, analysis of the data from a number of actual PEMS tests has shown that a significant proportion of the total NOx emissions occurs during this "cold start" phase. To address this situation, and to make the PEMS test more representative of real world conditions, the draft Regulation proposes amendments to the PEMS testing requirements to include the cold start emissions in the evaluation of the final emissions results. It is proposed that the cold start emissions, defined as the emissions when the coolant temperature is below 343 K (70°C), are measured separately from the emissions when the engine is warm (coolant temperature above 343 K (70°C)), with the final test results being calculated by applying a weighting factor of 0.14 cold / 0.86 warm to the test results from both phases. This is the same weighting factor that is currently applied to the test results from the cold start and hot start worldwide harmonised transient cycle (WHTC) tests to determine the final test results.
- Particulate matter (PM) number measurements - The light duty vehicle emissions requirements were amended by EU Regulation No. 2017/1154 to require particulate matter (PM) numbers to be measured during PEMS testing, but particulate matter (PM) number measurement during PEMS testing is not currently required by the (EU) No. 582/2011. To address this situation, the draft Regulation introduces all of the requirements and specifications necessary to implement particulate matter (PM) number measurement during PEMS testing, including a specific Conformity Factor of 1.63 for determining compliance with the particulate matter (PM) number limit.
With regard to introduction dates, the draft Regulation proposes that compliance with the new requirements will become mandatory from 1st January 2021 for new types of vehicle and new types of engine, and from 1st January 2022 for all new vehicles and engines. However, recognising that additional lead time will be required to develop CNG and LNG fuelled engines that comply with the particulate matter (PM) number requirements, the implementation dates for compliance with the particulate matter (PM) number requirements are delayed by two years for such vehicles and engines, i.e. 1st January 2023 for new types of vehicle and new types of engine, and 1st January 2024 for all new vehicles and engines.