Progress Towards Near-Zero (Negative?) Emission Vehicles

Abstract

This talk aims to provide an overview of the latest advances in regulations and technologies for lowering tailpipe emissions from light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Engine and after-treatment system technologies which reduce greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions will be covered. Rapid changes are happening in the mobility sector, driven by the need for improved air quality in urban air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions to contain global warming. The next set of stringent regulations are either being phased-in or proposed across most major markets. Post Euro 6/VI regulations will tighten limits on criteria pollutants and also impose limits on previously unregulated gas species, all with the backdrop of significant CO2 year-over-year reduction mandates. California and EPA are proposing up to a 90% reduction in NOx emissions from heavy-duty trucks. Other major markets, China, India, Brazil are also implementing the next set of regulations. Several countries have proposed targets for electric and fuel-cell vehicles. Life-cycle analyses are being done for both light- and heavy-duty sectors, including concepts such as synthetic fuels, to examine the various approaches for achieving carbon neutrality towards the middle of this century. IC engines and hybrid powertrain technologies are expected to play a key role in deliver not only significantly reduced fuel consumption but also near-zero criteria emissions, to the extent that the tailpipe exhaust can be actually cleaner than the ambient air in some of the most polluted regions of the world. We review the latest in these exciting times.