Three of the most popular plug-in hybrids in 2020 all emitted more CO2 than advertised when tested in the real world, according to tests commissioned by European environmental NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). T&E said governments should therefore end the purchase subsidies and tax breaks for plug-in hybrids. T&E has... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached settlements with two Iowa companies for allegedly tampering with car engines to render emissions controls inoperative, in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. According to EPA, Menzel Enterprises Iowa Inc. of West Des Moines installed “defeat devices” in at least five... Read more →

Most Europeans living in cities are still breathing air that is dangerous to their health, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) in a new report; governments are not doing enough to cut toxic emissions at source, campaigners warn. Data show that harmful emissions, especially from farming and domestic heating,... Read more →

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has approved draft new mandatory regulations to cut the carbon intensity of existing ships. This builds on current mandatory energy efficiency requirements to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. The MEPC also agreed the terms of reference for assessing... Read more →

GTI and partners, The Ohio State University, Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC), and Trimeric Corporation (Trimeric), have been selected for award on a project to advance Ohio State’s transformational membrane technology to provide step-out reductions in CO2 capture cost and energy penalties. The US Department of Energy National Energy Technology... Read more →

Global renewable energy investment increased between 2013 and 2018, reaching its peak at US$351 billion in 2017, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). The 2020 edition of Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance highlights however, that while a cumulative... Read more →

Many of China’s environmental regulations set targets for local governments that are used to evaluate the possibility of promotion for local officials. A new study shows that this well-intentioned centralized system of regulating may be ineffective in reaching national goals. The study looked at water quality regulations and found that... Read more →

Exposure to higher ozone concentrations in the air is significantly associated with a higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Science Symposium 2020. The virtual meeting is being held 14-16 November 2020 and will feature the most... Read more →

The Carbon2Chem project (earlier post) initiated by thyssenkrupp is moving into its next phase. Involving 16 further partners, the project, which is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has over the past four years gathered fundamental insights into the conversion of steel mill process gases into... Read more →

In Japan, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and JFE Steel Corporation have built a medium-scale ferro coke production facility with a daily production capacity of 300 tons and begun demonstration testing. The goal is to develop ferro coke production technology that reduces both energy consumption and... Read more →

Transport Canada has awarded a contract to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, to develop an assessment tool to examine clean technologies that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the release of other pollutants from marine vessels. The objective of the project is to use... Read more →

To complement its work on real-world emissions in Europe, TRUE has compiled remote sensing data from the states of Colorado and Virginia and the University of Denver to investigate the emissions of US light-duty vehicles. FIA Foundation and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) established The Real Urban Emissions... Read more →

Audi of America is among the first in the automotive industry to implement an internal carbon price program as a key initiative in the brand’s pursuit of lower CO2 emissions. This is part of the global commitment Audi has made to lower its carbon footprint by 30% by 2025, and... Read more →

Cargill and BAR Technologies have embarked on a strategic project with naval architect Deltamarin to bring cutting edge wind propulsion technology to commercial shipping. The project will see BAR Technology’s WindWings—large, solid wing sails that measure up to 45 meters in height—fitted to the deck of bulk cargo ships to... Read more →

Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The... Read more →

A team from KU Leuven and the University of Antwerp in Belgium has developed a new process that is suitable for the distributed, small-scale production of “green” ammonia. The process, called PNOCRA (Plasma Nitrogen Oxidation and Catalytic Reduction to Ammonia), combines plasma‐assisted nitrogen oxidation and lean NOx trap technology, adopted... Read more →

The third installment of a CALSTART-commissioned survey of Tier-1 US automotive suppliers found that a majority (62%) of the suppliers responding to the survey disagreed with the Trump administration’s rollback of national fuel economy standards. Only 15% of respondents agreed with the rollback, and the rest were undecided. The same... Read more →

PM2.5 pollution was significantly associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions for several neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias, in a long-term study of more than 63 million older US adults, led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study, conducted... Read more →

California’s latest greenhouse gas data shows that while the state continues to stay below its 2020 target for emissions, there is much more work to do to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The California Air Resources Board released GHG emissions data for 2018 showing that emissions remain below 1990 levels... Read more →

The Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Port of Amsterdam, North Sea Port Netherlands, Drechtsteden, the Port of Antwerp and De Vlaamse Waterweg intend to set up a single shore-based power system for inland shipping and the river cruise industry. This will contribute to the user-friendliness of this facility, which is... Read more →

Singaporean-based tonnage provider Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), has appointed GoodFuels to supply biofuel bunkers for its 2010-built 47,377 deadweight tonne MR tanker M/T Pacific Beryl. The successful bunkering, which took place on Friday, 9 October in Dutch waters, is in line with EPS’ Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Policy. The... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) sent a letter to automakers and other vehicle and engine manufacturers encouraging them to disclose by the end of the year any unapproved hardware or software programs that impact emissions control systems in vehicles sold in California. This letter is part of CARB’s ongoing... Read more →

U-Haul has purchased its first million gallons of renewable propane, which is available to customers at U-Haul autogas facilities across Southern California. U-Haul, the largest retailer of propane in the US, teamed with national distributor Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., to supply the fuel. Suburban Propane also recently invested in renewable... Read more →

Audi Hungaria, in cooperation with E.ON Hungaria, officially started operation of Europe’s biggest photovoltaic roof installation. Since the start of the year, the site in Győr has used only green power. In 2012 Audi’s Hungarian plant opened a geothermal facility to supply most of its heat requirements. The remainder is... Read more →

Dachser is now making all its deliveries to the heart of the southwest Germany city Freiburg emission-free, using a combination of Fuso eCanters, StreetScooters, and cargo bikes. Taking transportation as a whole, this new service reduces CO2 emissions per shipment by 26%. In the city center of Freiburg, Germany, Dachser... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a settlement with Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. for $1,990,650—the largest penalty to date related to clean air violations for the state’s Ocean-Going Vessel At Berth Regulation. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc., with its principal location in Coral Gables, Florida, is... Read more →

With demand for lithium set to increase over the next decade, Roskill has calculated, using its in-house analysis, that CO2 emissions from lithium production are set to triple by 2025 versus current levels and to grow by a factor of six by 2030, with the vast majority of this coming... Read more →

MAHLE Powertrain’s (MPT’s) latest development of its passive MAHLE Jet Ignition (MJI) technology (earlier post) can now be added into existing engine designs with only minimal changes to the final machining process. Continued work throughout the lockdown period means that passive MJI can now be installed as a press-in unit... Read more →

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have demonstrated that noble metal atoms may assemble to form clusters under certain conditions. These clusters are more reactive than the single atoms and, hence, exhaust gases can be much better removed. The results are reported in Nature Catalysis. Noble metal catalysts... Read more →

Jervois Mining Limited will acquire 100% of the Sao Miguel Paulista nickel and cobalt refinery (SMP Refinery) in the Brazilian State of Sao Paulo from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) (an investee company of Votorantim, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Latin America). SMP Refinery has annual refined production... Read more →

A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto has found that current US policies are insufficient to remain within a sectoral CO2 emission budget for light-duty vehicles that is consistent with preventing more than 2 °C global warming. Current policies will create a mitigation gap of up to 19 GtCO2... Read more →

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, says it will be neutralizing the carbon emissions of all less-than-container load (LCL) ocean freight shipments from 1 January 2021. As one of the leading ocean freight forwarders worldwide, and in line with Deutsche Post DHL... Read more →

A recent report from CE Delft, an independent research and consultancy organization, regarding the climate impact of Exhaust Gas Cleaning (EGC) systems for the marine industry. The study compares the results to the use of low-sulfur marine fuels and is made from a well-to-wake perspective in order to achieve an... Read more →

A new analysis of the real-world usage of more than 100,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles shows a large deviation between on-road CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency and the official vehicle type-approval values. The results of the joint study, released by German Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and... Read more →

Anticipating increasing desire from airlines to reduce emissions, Neste and Shell Aviation have entered into a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply agreement. This agreement significantly increases the supply and availability of SAF for the aviation industry with effect from October 2020. It brings together Neste’s expertise in the production and... Read more →

Tula Technology is presenting its diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) technology (earlier post) at the 4th Future Diesel Powertrain Summit China 2020 on 24-25 September 2020 in Shanghai, China. In addition to providing an overview of dDSF technology, the presentation will address the Cummins-Tula 15L Heavy-Duty dDSF Project as well... Read more →

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has added two test stands to its Exhaust Composition Transient Operation Laboratory — ECTO-Lab. This computer-controlled, multi-fueled burner system simulates engine exhaust conditions to conduct steady-state and transient evaluations, including the ability to age a wide range of emission control systems rapidly. The ECTO-Lab expansion includes... Read more →

Sweden has an ambitious target of being fossil-free by 2045. As a part of the initiative, the Swedish Government announced on 11 September the introduction of a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction mandate for aviation fuel sold in Sweden in 2021. The reduction level will be 0.8% in 2021, and gradually... Read more →

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has paid $253,300 in penalties to the California Air Resources Board for violating the Ocean-Going Vessel At-Berth Regulation. The rule requires container, passenger and refrigerated cargo ships to reduce emissions while docked at California’s busiest ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Hueneme, San Francisco and San... Read more →

As of September 2022, new cars must meet EU limits on NOx emissions under real driving conditions to comply with air pollution limits, the European Parliament has voted. Data on car emissions such as NOx had been obtained through laboratory tests. The EU is the first region in the world... Read more →

Audi is adding a new member to its A3 family: the A3 Sportback 30 g-tron natural gas vehicle. Operation with natural gas or biomethane makes the compact model economical and more climate-friendly with low emissions. Sales in Germany and other European countries begin in fall 2020 at a base price... Read more →

Volvo Cars has introduced a world-first premium air quality technology in its cars, allowing Volvo drivers to breathe clean and healthy air inside their cars and clean the air of their cabin ahead of their journey. The company’s new Advanced Air Cleaner technology comes with a sensor that measures PM2.5... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDepartment of Justice (DOJ), and California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a proposed settlement with Daimler AG and its American subsidiary Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and California law associated with emissions cheating. Under the proposed settlement, lodged... Read more →

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced new and extended contracts for more than 20 million gallons of Redeem renewable natural gas (RNG) to accommodate the continued demand across key business segments for the ultra-low carbon fuel produced from organic waste. Alpha Lion, which carries mail for the US Postal Service between... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has approved the first three Community Emissions Reduction Programs (CERP) within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) under Assembly Bill 617. Residents living in the three communities are heavily impacted from high levels of air pollution sources including ports and inland warehouses traffic.... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board settled eight diesel cases totaling more than $130,000 for violations of the Truck and Bus Regulation in the Imperial Valley. The Truck and Bus Regulation protects public health by reducing emissions of diesel particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other pollutants from diesel-fueled vehicles. This... Read more →

Uber is committing to become a fully zero-emission platform by 2040, with 100% of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micromobility. The company is also setting an earlier goal to have 100% of rides take place in electric vehicles (EVs) in US, Canadian, and European... Read more →

BASF’s Coatings division is presenting a new advanced refinish product line. By increasing the efficiency and significantly lowering the environmental impact, the products are designed to meet the highest expectations of modern body shops. During the development of the waterborne basecoat line, the focus was put on sustainable aspects: The... Read more →

Ricardo plc has made a public commitment to its shareholders, customers and workforce to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its operations by the end of calendar year 2030. Ricardo has been working actively towards this goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions for some time and has been helping... Read more →

Asphalt is a near-ubiquitous substance—it’s found in roads, on roofs and in driveways—but its chemical emissions rarely figure into urban air quality management plans. A new study now finds that asphalt is a significant source of air pollutants in urban areas, especially on hot and sunny days. Yale researchers found... Read more →