In partnership with Catalina Express and Harbor Breeze Cruises, the Port of Los Angeles will soon begin emission-reduction technology demonstration projects for specialized harbor craft, due to a $31-million grant awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The project will involve testing and evaluation of two different harbor craft... Read more →
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a $236.5-million settlement with heavy-duty engine manufacturer Hino Motors, Ltd., Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. and Hino Motors Sales U.S.A. Inc. (collectively, Hino), a subsidiary of Toyota Motors Corporation. It is part of a larger federal settlement... Read more →
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will award $38 million to projects to develop technologies that reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use in corn and sorghum farming—key crops for US ethanol production. The Technologies to Emend and Obviate SYnthetic Nitrogen’s Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program aims... Read more →
The European Union (EU) via the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) has awarded a €1.8-million grant to a research project to establish decarbonization technologies for the steelmaking industry. The program aims to establish a process for injecting hydrogen using the Sequence Impulse Process (SIP) technology directly into the... Read more →
The German Federal Environment Agency estimates that the contact of tires with the road surface produces abrasion particles amounting to at least 100,000 tons per year. This corresponds to approximately one-third of the microplastic emissions released every year in Germany. Due to their higher weight, vehicles with an electric drive... Read more →
Finish Thompson Inc. (FTI), a leader in pump manufacturing, is highlighting its Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) drum pumps, designed to meet the demands of modern Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems. These pumps offer reliability, compatibility, and versatility, making them suitable for a wide range of industrial settings. The PF Series... Read more →
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation announced the development of the Integrated Greenhouse Gas Information System (IGIS), a platform designed to monitor, quantify and manage carbon emissions throughout the entire vehicle lifecycle. By leveraging Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, IGIS provides detailed quantification and tracking of carbon emissions throughout the... Read more →
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.2129-B/A.3351-B) requiring fossil fuel companies to contribute $3 billion annually for “climate damage repair” over 25 years for a total of up to $75 billion. By creating a Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program, this law—modeled on federal Superfund legislation—ensures that these companies... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) reached a settlement agreement with FCA US LLC (FCA) of Auburn Hills, Mich., for $4,185,820 for violations of CARB’s air quality regulations. The FCA vehicles involved in the settlement include model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500, and 3500 vehicles equipped... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy announced approximately $850 million for projects selected for negotiation that will help small oil and gas operators, Tribes, and other entities across the country to reduce, monitor, measure, and quantify methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved waivers for two California clean vehicle regulations that will allow the state to implement and enforce its Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations for light-duty vehicles, and its “Omnibus” low-NOx regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines. Under the... Read more →
The World Economic Forum’s latest Net Zero Industry Tracker shows progress in reducing emissions across eight hard-to-abate sectors—steel, aluminium, cement, primary chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and trucking. Together, these critical industries, which play a crucial role in the global economy, achieved a 0.9% reduction in absolute emissions from... Read more →
DEUTZ AG is strengthening its technology and production expertise to make combustion engines even more efficient and cleaner by acquiring a stake in HJS Emission Technology GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist in exhaust gas aftertreatment. To this end, both parties signed an agreement end of November, under which DEUTZ... Read more →
A new study by a research team from Florida State University and Duke University has found that an estimated 151 million excess mental disorders can be attributable to lead exposure from gasoline. The study is published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology. More than half of the current... Read more →
Europe’s container ships pollute as much per container as they did six years ago, new EU shipping data shows, according to analysis by European transportation NGO T&E. T&E calls for stricter efficiency measures to ensure shipping companies sail slower and invest in energy saving technologies such as wind. According to... Read more →
A new National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper by Ryan Kellogg, a professor and deputy dean for academic programs at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy finds that when oil producers anticipate a long-run decline in demand for oil, they begin investing less into exploration... Read more →
ArcelorMittal has previously announced the intention to invest in lower carbon emissions “hydrogen ready” DRI-EAF (DIrect Reduced Iron - Electric Arc Furnace) facilities to replace several blast furnaces across its European business as a key strategic first step towards reducing emissions. In all cases, the host countries offered funding support... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed to strengthen limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from most new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines. The proposal would ensure that new turbines built at power plants or industrial facilities—especially large ones that could operate for decades—would be among the... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The rule facilitates implementation of Congress’s directive in the Inflation Reduction Act to collect a Waste Emissions Charge. Congress established the charge on large emitters of methane if their emissions... Read more →
The carbon footprint from private jet travel grew 46% between 2019 and 2023 according to a new open-access study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The European research team calculated the sector’s CO2 emissions using flight tracker data from the ADS-B Exchange platform for the period 2019 to 2023. Flight... Read more →
Technology group Wärtsilä has introduced its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine. While operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG), the NextDF feature reduces methane emissions to less than 2% of fuel use across all load points, achieving as low as 1.1% in a wide load range. The... Read more →
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a nearly $82-million penalty in a joint case to address significant air pollution violations by Valero Refining Co. at its Benicia refinery. This penalty is the largest ever assessed in the Air District’s history. More... Read more →
Rio Tinto has completed the transition from conventional to renewable diesel for all heavy mining equipment at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah, giving the mine one of the lowest carbon footprints of any copper producer in the United States. Kennecott’s fleet of 97 haul trucks and heavy machinery equipment... Read more →
ABB’s latest RB1000i-S high-transfer efficiency paint atomizers have been installed at Mazda’s Ujina plant, Japan, as the automotive manufacturer accelerates efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in its global production facilities by 2035. The digitally-enabled atomizers, which began operation earlier this year, significantly reduce paint usage by increasing the paint transfer... Read more →
At the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg, Germany, Volkswagen Group and thyssenkrupp Steel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the planned supply to Volkswagen Group of low-carbon steel from thyssenkrupp Steel’s future direct reduction plant. thyssenkrupp Steel’s direct reduction plant, which is scheduled to go into operation in... Read more →
South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, along with the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, the First Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy visited POSCO’s Pohang Steelworks on 17 October to discuss measures for boosting investment and toured around the proposed site for hydrogen-based steelmaking and the operations at... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency announced selections totaling nearly $125 million under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program which will incentivize and accelerate the upgrade or retirement of older diesel engines to cleaner and zero-emission solutions leading to significant emission reductions and air quality and public health... Read more →
The lack of air-quality monitoring capabilities across the US affects the health of millions of people and disproportionately impacts minority and low socioeconomic-status communities, according to a new open-access study by researchers from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington, published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Motivated by... Read more →
A team of researchers from University of California Riverside, BASF, Virginia Tech and Brookhaven National Laboratory have mixed platinum (Pt) catalyst with zeolites to improve significantly catalytic performance in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) with H2 (H2-SCR), a process aiming at NOx removal from internal combustion engines... Read more →
In an open-access paper in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers in Sweden demonstrate, for the first time, that the photooxidation of gaseous brake wear emissions can lead to formation of secondary particulate matter, which could amplify the environmental impact of brake wear emissions. Due to increasingly strict controls of exhaust... Read more →
Alstom and SSAB entered a partnership for the supply of steel made with close to zero fossil carbon emissions. The first delivery of SSAB Zero will take place this year and be used in Alstom’s first Traxx Shunter locomotives, a new platform designed for shunting and trackwork operations. SSAB Zero... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with the Lima Refining Company (LRC) resolving alleged Clean Air Act violations for excess emissions from wastewater of benzene and other volatile organic compounds from its refinery in Lima, Ohio. Under the settlement, LRC... Read more →
A new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) finds that only four of the 17 major automakers selling vehicles in Europe and North America have committed to start using any fossil-free steel by 2030. The commitments total an estimated 2% of the global steel used by all... Read more →
The newly released Global Methane Budget 2024 highlights methane emissions from human activities have increased by 20% in the past two decades. Methane is one of three core greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. It lasts in the atmosphere for just a few decades, which is shorter when compared... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is launching a new program to enhance air quality monitoring across the state, with a heavy focus on communities where residents live near multiple sources of pollution. The goal of the program, known as the Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI), is to get more... Read more →
In 2024, a small electric SUV with a range of 300 miles produces 52% fewer life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than a comparable gasoline vehicle, according to Argonne National Laboratory’s R&D GREET Model. R&D GREET is a life cycle analysis (LCA) model that assesses the energy use and environmental... Read more →
The global concentrations of particulate matter have been graphically illustrated for the first time by a team of scientists. Data from computer simulations and satellite observations were combined to estimate the changing concentrations of particulate matter since the beginning of the industrial revolution, with the colur palette for the stripes... Read more →
In a study commissioned by the German Center for Rail Transport Research (DZSF), researchers from the Institute of Thermodynamics and Sustainable Propulsion Systems at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have shown that non-exhaust emissions from rail transport also have a relevant influence on air quality and soil pollution. This... Read more →
California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Governing Board recently adopted Rule 2306, otherwise known as the Freight Rail Yards Indirect Source Rule (ISR), which requires rail yard operators to take actions to meet specific emission reductions targets. The rule is expected to reduce NOx emissions associated... Read more →
The US has slashed smog-causing pollutants such as airborne sulfur dioxide in the past 20 years, but the cuts have unintentionally increased ground and water pollution in some local areas, according to research from Princeton and Colorado State University. In an open-access paper in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers reported... Read more →
Michelin North America made a $50-million investment at American Synthetic Rubber Company (ASRC) in Louisville, Kentucky to construct a natural gas boiler facility. The new facility will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the plant. The project entails the decommissioning and dismantling of the coal boilers at ASRC. It also... Read more →
A decarbonized steel industry that includes carbon dioxide removal techniques in its net zero arsenal could use lower-grade iron ore, according to a new study by researchers from Heriot-Watt University in the UK. Steel accounts for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. Its total emissions have risen over the past... Read more →
The auto industry can eliminate more than 95% of greenhouse gas emissions from producing the steel for passenger vehicles by switching to fossil fuel-free steel, according to a new report released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Primary steel, a critical component of today’s auto sector supply chain,... Read more →
A researcher at Brunel University in the UK has identified an optimal blend comprising oxymethylene ethers (OMEn = 1–5 series) with diesel aimed at simultaneously reducing soot and NOx emissions while enhancing fuel efficiency. Farhad Mazari identified the optimal blend through experimentation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. The study... Read more →
The PACIFIC app, a solution for the exchange of Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data of BASF products, is now available in the Catena-X Automotive Ecosystem in the Cofinity-X App Store. BASF customers can from now on register for the application. PACIFIC is a joint development of BASF and CircularTree. After... Read more →
The BMW Group is now powering exhaust purification in its first paint shops electrically. Due to a new method, the high temperatures needed for the thermal purification of exhaust from paint booths and drying areas can now be generated by electricity. With that, a further production process can now be... Read more →
The US Environmental Protection Agency has selected recipients of more than $4.3 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction Grants. The 25 selected applications will fund projects in 30 states, including one Tribe, that target reducing greenhouse gas pollution from six sectors: transportation, electric power, commercial and residential buildings, industry, agriculture/ natural... Read more →
To achieve the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) goals of net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050, all new aircraft delivered after about 2035 will need to emit zero net CO2 emissions throughout their operational lifetimes, according to a new report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The... Read more →
Volvo Trucks North America announced the availability of an engine that meets California Air Resources Board (CARB) 2024 Omnibus regulation requirements for low nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions standards. The CARB Omnibus regulation mandates a 75% reduction in NOx emissions and a 50% reduction in particulate matter... Read more →
Rheinmetall has won two orders in the field of exhaust technology for hybrid vehicles with a total value of around €20 million. Both orders relate to the subsidiary Pierburg China. One order is for the supply of fuel tank shut-off valves (FTIV) by a well-known Chinese supplier of carbon canisters.... Read more →