Euro 6 isn’t going to be easy, but we’re on it, says Volvo Trucks 04 March 2010

With the Euro 6 engine emission standards for new trucks coming into force on 31 December 2013, truck and engine manufacturers have a tough path ahead of them.

Mats Franzén, manager of engine strategy and planning at Volvo Trucks, confirms that Volvo is already working toward the requirement for particle emissions to be halved (and possibly reduced by more than 90%, depending on the imminent particle mass ruling) and oxides of nitrogen reduced by 77%.

Although under no illusion, Franzén is bullish. "[The new requirements] pose a challenge for us, like everyone else. They offer our engine designers a chance to show their mettle. We will meet the standards long before the new legislation takes effect."

Franzén won't specify the technical improvements being made, but says simply that there is "plenty to play around with". He lists improved software, better friction conditions, more efficient SCR (selective catalytic reduction) and adaptation of operating temperatures.

He also says it "is very probable that achieving Euro 6 will require a combination of SCR, EGR [exhaust gas recirculation] and a particulate filter".

No surprise there, but Franzén goes on to state: "Clearly, the challenge of Euro 6 will lie in further reducing oxides of nitrogen emissions without increasing fuel consumption and thereby increasing CO2 emissions."

He believes that Volvo Trucks "will continue to reduce fuel consumption by about 1% a year". And he adds: "That means big savings, both in economic and environmental terms."

The downside: "The improvements come at a price, and today's engines are roughly twice as expensive to manufacture as in the early 1990s."

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Volvo Group UK Ltd

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