Workshop on EU Policies Workshop on EU Pol es to to I Improve the - PDF document

Final Report on the Workshop on EU Policies Workshop on EU Pol es to to I Improve the the Contributio Contribution of Urban Urban Busse Busses and other and other Ca Captive F ptive Fleets eets to to A Air Quali r Quality y Brussels, 2005-01-14

Final Report on the Fina l Report on the Workshop on EU Policies to Improve the Contribution of Urban Busses and other Captive Fleets to Air Quality Brussels, 2005-01-14 Author Authors s Dr. Leonidas Ntziachristos Prof. Zissis Samaras This is d docume ment nt wa was co comp mpile iled b by LAT – Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics Aristotle University Thessaloniki GR 54124 Thessaloniki GREECE ℡ : +30 23 10 99 60 14 � : +30 23 10 99 60 19 � : http://lat.eng.auth.gr/ � : zisis@auth.gr On b beha half lf o of t the European Commission Directorate – General Environment Directorate C – Air and Chemicals Rue de Gen è ve, 1-3 B-1049 Brussels BELGIUM Contract No. 070501/2004/391521/MAR/C1 More I Info format atio ion o on t the Wo Worksh shop ma may b y be f found at at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/clean_bus/index.htm

Conte Contents ts 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................5 2 Captive Fleets Today .......................................................................................................................6 2.1 Contribution of Captive Fleets to Urban Road Transport Emissions ........................................6 2.2 Background on the European Policies / Legislation................................................................13 2.3 Developments of Environmental Legislation / Future Air Quality Targets...............................14 2.4 Questions addressed in the Workshop ....................................................................................16 3 Improved Maintenance ..................................................................................................................17 3.1 Heavy Duty Vehicles..................................................................................................................17 3.2 Light Duty Vehicles ....................................................................................................................18 3.3 Questions addressed in the Workshop ....................................................................................19 4 Refuelling........................................................................................................................................20 4.1 Emulsified Fuels ........................................................................................................................20 4.2 Natural Gas................................................................................................................................21 4.3 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)................................................................................................23 4.4 Biofuels ......................................................................................................................................24 4.5 Questions addressed in the Workshop ....................................................................................27 5 Retrofitting ......................................................................................................................................29 5.1 Available Technology for Retrofitting ........................................................................................29 5.2 Demonstration Activities............................................................................................................32 5.3 Questions addressed in the Workshop ....................................................................................37 6 Summary of Available Technical Options .....................................................................................37 6.1 Accelerated Replacement.........................................................................................................38 6.2 Improved Maintenance..............................................................................................................39 6.3 Retrofitting..................................................................................................................................39 6.4 Emulsions ..................................................................................................................................40 6.5 Alternative Fuels ........................................................................................................................41 6.6 Biofuels ......................................................................................................................................42 7 Conclusions & Outlook of the Workshop......................................................................................43 References...............................................................................................................................................46

1 I NTR CTION NTRODU DUCTIO Urban air pollution induced by road transport is a multi dimensional technical and social problem which has been in the agenda already since several decades. The request of improved air quality on one hand, and the increasing need for mobility of people and goods within an urban area on the other hand, are the two directions that need to be served in parallel. The multidimensional character of the problem arises from the fact that road transport air pollution originates from factors lying on several levels of human activity and natural processes which include, among others, the city infrastructure, the vehicle technology, the power mix used (fossil fuels, electricity, etc.) but also particular needs of mobility, the density of the population, the climatic conditions and the geography of each specific urban area. Such a complex problem may have different solutions, each addressing a different part of its origins and obtained at a variable cost. Even when focussing only on the source of pollutants in the atmosphere, i.e. vehicle emissions, there are still different approaches which can be adopted to reduce their contribution: Development of more stringent emission standards for future vehicles, fuel quality refinement regulations, improved traffic management, inspection and maintenance regulations, promotion of alternative powertrains, etc. The range of options increases for centrally managed (captive) fleets, by name urban busses, taxis, refuse trucks and other utility vehicles. These fleets, despite their small size compared to private cars, operate solely on urban areas with a large annual mileage and have usually a longer mean useful life than passenger cars. They also play a central part of urban transportation planning and are directly controlled by public and municipal authorities. Therefore, measures that do not appear feasible or cost-effective for private cars because of the high volumes and cost associated to monitor and recall each individual vehicle may well suit such controlled fleets. These measures include traffic management issues such as bus lanes or environmentally controlled zones and technology intervention measures such as the use of dedicated fuels or retrofitting of emission control devices. The Polis network (www.polis-online.org) provides a good overview of the different thematic areas associated with urban transport policy development. This last group of options – intervention measures to control captive fleets emissions – was the target of the Workshop organised by DG Environment on January 14, 2005. The Workshop initially aimed at exploring the benefit, the cost-effectiveness and ultimately the target of different technology-driven policies to further control emissions of buses and other captive fleets at a European level. Particular emphasis was given to urban busses which is the largest contributor of urban fleets. However, it was made clear during the Workshop that although there are today several available technological options which may lead to a reduction of the current emission levels, the final decision is based on criteria with different weighing factors in each local society / application and no single option can be prioritised. Furthermore, it was considered that there is little scope in focussing the discussion only towards emission technology driven measures since transport-driven measures may also lead to cost-effective solutions. This means that any approach should be selected from the pool of technology-driven and transport-driven options. This document is a combination of the background document prepared in advance of the Workshop to establish the different directions and dimensions associated with the emission control of urban fleets, and of the conclusions reached during the Workshop. This means that there is a rather detailed discussion of technology-driven options, and in particular alternative fuels, retrofitting of aftertreatment devices and the effect of maintenance on emissions, which were identified as priority areas in the scope of action initially considered by the European Commission. The report first presents an overview of the contribution of captive fleets to urban air pollution and then presents the available technologies in each priority area. Each chapter finishes with a list of questions that were addressed during the Workshop and concludes with suggestions for policy making. The authors would like to thank all individuals and institutes which provided useful information and ideas during and after the Workshop and assisted by providing the input for the compilation of this report. 5