[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6353\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESolid ammonia reduces Copenhagen bus emissions by 90 %\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENoxious nitrogen oxides given off by diesel cars are believed to increase the incidence of lung and cardiac conditions in big cities.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ETransport is responsible for around a quarter of all EU greenhouse gas emissions and is the only sector in the EU to have \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/transport\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehigher levels\u003C\/a\u003E in 2012 than in 1990.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe largest part of this is trucks and buses, which account for a quarter of emissions from road transport in the EU. High road-freight traffic means heavy-duty vehicle emissions are still on the rise despite improvements in fuel consumption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe European Commission is working to reduce transport emissions by putting binding targets in place for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/transport\/vehicles\/cars\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Enew cars\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/transport\/vehicles\/vans\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Evan fleets\u003C\/a\u003E, requiring Member States to label a cars\u2019 \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/transport\/vehicles\/labelling\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efuel efficiency and CO2 emissions level\u003C\/a\u003E, and improving \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/clima\/policies\/transport\/fuel\/index_en.htm\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efuel quality\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast year German carmaker Volkswagen hit headlines after US regulators \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/vw\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eaccused\u003C\/a\u003E it of including software in many of its 2.0 litre engines to circumvent emissions standards for nitrogen oxides.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, researchers in Denmark have already started testing technology that has cut back nitrogen oxide emissions by over 90 % in city buses by using ammonia salts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr Ulrich Quaade, head of research and development at technology firm Amminex in S\u00f8borg, Denmark, progress of this kind is putting diesel vehicles back on the road to environmental sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Internal combustion engines have historically faced a trade-off between reducing their impact on the climate and on public health,\u2019 said Dr Quaade.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile diesel engines are up to 50 % more fuel-efficient than their petrol counterparts, meaning they emit less greenhouse gas, they also produce more by-products such as nitrogen oxides that are directly harmful to people\u2019s health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough stricter legislation across the EU has cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 30 % over the past decade, reductions have largely come at the expense of diesel engine efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELiquid urea\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Vehicles can split nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and oxygen, but to do so they need to inject liquid urea into their exhaust system at high temperatures,\u2019 said Dr Quaade. \u2018Heating the exhaust fumes burns fuel and hence releases more greenhouse gases.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmminex has developed a novel filtering approach by solidifying ammonium into stable salts that can be injected at exhaust temperatures commonly encountered in urban traffic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Researchers retrofitted 250 buses in Copenhagen with solid ammonia tanks so that they produce fewer nitrogen oxides. Images courtesy of Amminex\u0022 height=\u0022400\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/bus%20tank.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Researchers retrofitted 250 buses in Copenhagen with solid ammonia tanks so that they produce fewer nitrogen oxides. Images courtesy of Amminex\u0022 width=\u0022600\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EResearchers retrofitted 250 buses in Copenhagen with solid ammonia tanks so that they produce fewer nitrogen oxides. Images courtesy of Amminex\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018By no longer having to heat the exhaust, we can reduce both the carbon footprint and the nitrogen oxide emissions of the engine at the same time,\u2019 said Dr Quaade.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast year, Amminex retrofitted 250 buses in Copenhagen with tanks of solid ammonia, reducing their nitrogen oxide emissions by over 90 %.\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignright-width45@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The NOxTracker app tells users how much nitrogen oxides retrofitted buses emit. Images courtesy of Amminex\u0022 height=\u0022604\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/NOxTracker%20with%20border.PNG\u0022 title=\u0022The NOxTracker app tells users how much nitrogen oxides retrofitted buses emit. Images courtesy of Amminex\u0022 width=\u0022398\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe NOxTracker app tells users how much nitrogen oxides retrofitted buses emit. Images courtesy of Amminex\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo probe the performance of the technology under representative driving conditions, Amminex uses on-board instruments that follow the buses as they drive their daily routes and broadcast their measurements through a publicly downloadable app called NOxTracker.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEU funds are allowing the company to build on this knowledge and adapt the technology to the broader automotive sector.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are making our nitrogen oxide filtering system more compact and tailoring it to passenger vehicle driving patterns,\u2019 said Dr Quaade. \u2018Smaller diesel cars represent the largest market for us, but these vehicles have a completely different operating strategy to the trucks and buses that we have worked with so far.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDiesel engine flexibility lies at the heart of research performed by Professor Maria Founti at the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. Her team investigates how fuel blends combust in technologies ranging from the diesel motors that fit inside passenger cars to the 1\u0026nbsp;000-tonne behemoths propelling international cargo ships.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETransparent engines\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Some of our students are working with engines built from transparent materials that allow lasers to probe live combustion processes in molecular detail,\u2019 said Prof. Founti. She expects that fundamental interdisciplinary research can help bridge the communication gap between diesel engine developers, in particular across the automotive and marine transport sectors.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018We can reduce both the carbon footprint and the nitrogen oxide emissions.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Ulrich Quaade, head of R\u0026amp;D, Amminex\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Founti sees an opportunity for diesel vehicles of all kinds to meet increasingly ambitious environmental regulations through closer collaboration across a deeply fragmented industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ECCO-MATE International Training Network that she coordinates is funding a generation of young scientists to pursue interdisciplinary research at some of Europe\u2019s leading engineering departments on topics of broad generic interest such as fuel chemistry and injection dynamics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Swedish start-up CIMCO Marine is among the first to reach across this disciplinary divide. In recent years, the company has developed a technology called OXE-Diesel that combines a diesel car engine with marine propellers to produce an uncommonly robust, fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly outboard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Most small watercraft are propelled by petrol engines based on 1940s technology,\u2019 said Pim Polesie, vice president of the company. \u2018We found that, with the right engineering, a diesel engine could do a better job for a fraction of the fuel.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to CIMCO Marine, regulated diesel engines from the automotive industry emit less greenhouse gas than marine outboards and could reduce the air pollutants that they release by a factor of 50. They also present lower fire hazards, higher torque and substantially longer lifetimes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year, the first OXE-Diesel prototype has attracted the attention of vessel operators interested in engine durability, such as law enforcement services and rescue operations. EU funding has allowed CIMCO Marine to perform a full feasibility study and Polesie expects that, by 2020, the company will be supplying one in every ten outboards sold worldwide in the commercial-scale market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to ECCO-MATE\u2019s Prof. Founti, one of the main drivers behind recent advances in engine design has been environmental legislation. Emission targets have galvanised research across previously disconnected disciplines and guided research along unexplored avenues. As Europe pioneers regulatory reforms that protect both air quality and the climate, diesel engines will continue to evolve.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-gz9t28jnw52spdmr-xdsffptn06ms6djjegtxa1-huw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-gz9T28Jnw52sPdMR_XdsFfPTN06mS6DJjEGtxa1-hUw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]