Though bypassed in favor of other emission-reduction technologies in the U.S., selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has become the emission-control medium of choice for Europe's trucking industry.
Volvo is leading a new partnership to get all the components SCR requires to function properly in place.
Volvo is joining DAF (owned by U.S. OEM Paccar), Iveco, Mercedes-Benz and Renault Trucks in a venture to help support the introduction of AdBlue, the water/urea solution necessary for SCR technology to work, said Claes Claeson, Volvo's European spokesperson.
Claeson said SCR converts nitrogen oxides into harmless water vapor and nitrogen by means of a catalytic converter that requires certain quantities of AdBlue to be sprayed into the hot exhaust gas stream. AdBlue is the commercial name given to the synthetically produced aqueous urea solution that will be carried in a separate tank on the vehicle.
The OEM partnership will focus on helping AdBlue manufacturers equip public filling stations and refueling facilities operated by European trucking firms to support SCR systems.
Claeson noted that SCR will help Europe's truck OEMs meet both the Euro 4 exhaust gas emission standards for 2006 and, with some technical improvements, should be able to meet the next stage, Euro 5, in 2009. In addition, he said trucks equipped with SCR should see a 2% to 5% fuel consumption improvement.