Light-duty diesel vehicles emit on the road substantially more nitrogen oxides than permitted by regulatory emissions standards. The European Commission addresses this problem by developing a complementary emissions test procedure for the type approval and in-service conformity testing of these vehicles. To facilitate the technical development, the European Commission established in January 2011 the Real-Driving Emissions - Light-Duty Vehicles (RDE-LDV) working group that is open to all stakeholders. This report presents the results of the technical assessment that was carried out by the RDE-LDV working group for two candidate procedures: (i) emissions testing with random driving cycles in the laboratory and (ii) on-road emissions testing with Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS). Both procedures are technically feasible. However, PEMS on-road testing appears to be more effective than random-cycle testing in limiting the pollutant emissions of light-duty vehicles because it (i) allows a wider range of driving conditions to be covered and (ii) might more effectively prevent the detection of emissions tests and the use of defeat strategies. Nonetheless, PEMS on-road testing faces practical challenges, including open safety issues, the currently limited availability of PEMS equipment, and potential climatic, geographical, and seasonal constraints for the execution of emissions tests. Random-cycle testing presents advantages over PEMS on-road testing in that already established laboratory equipment and know-how to be used. The present assessment is subject to uncertainty because the implementation and running costs as well as the overall effectiveness of the two candidate procedures depend on the definition of concrete boundary conditions (e.g., permitted test temperatures, severity of driving patterns). These definitions are not yet agreed. Accounting for the resulting uncertainty, it has been decided that the JRC will develop a PEMS-based test procedure. Vehicle manufacturers are given the opportunity to develop a random cycle-based test procedure. A decision will be made regarding the implementation for type approval and in-service conformity testing based on a comparison of the two fully developed test procedures by the end of 2013.
WEISS Martin;
BONNEL Pierre;
HUMMEL Rudolf;
STEININGER Nikolaus;
Weiss M, Bonnel P, Hummel R, Steininger N. A complementary emissions test for light-duty vehicles: Assessing the technical feasibility of candidate procedures . EUR EUR 25572. Luxembourg (Luxembourg): Publications Office of the European Union; 2013. JRC75998
2013-02-05
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC75998
978-92-79-27188-5 (print),
978-92-79-27187-8,
1018-5593 (print),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR EUR 25572,
OP LD-NA-25572-EN-C (print),
OP LD-NA-25572-EN-N,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC75998,
10.2790/66783 (print),
10.2790/65654 (online),
