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 →

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of 38 grant recipients across the country, totaling nearly $160 million, to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials and products. EPA estimates that the construction materials used in buildings and other built infrastructure account... Read more →

CF Industries Holdings, a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products and the world’s largest producer of ammonia, and POET, the world’s largest producer of biofuel and a global leader in sustainable bioproducts, announced a collaboration to pilot the use of low-carbon ammonia fertilizer to reduce the carbon intensity... Read more →

The new Euro 7 limits, which will apply to newly registered vehicle types from November 2026, will also set particle limits for non-exhaust emissions such as tire and braking systems for the first time. After 2026, these requirements will also become relevant for the aftermarket. As well as setting particle... Read more →

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $36 million in funding to develop technologies to lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions by 50% from the cultivation of corn and sorghum used for United States ethanol production. The Technologies to Emend and Obviate SYnthetic Nitrogen’s Toll on Emissions (TEOSYNTE) program... Read more →

A new study led by researchers from MIT finds that burning ammonia for maritime fuel could worsen air quality further and lead to devastating public health impacts, unless it is adopted alongside strengthened emissions regulations. It has been estimated that maritime shipping accounts for almost 3% of global carbon dioxide... Read more →

Steel made with green hydrogen and electric arc furnaces, or produced from scrap, can reduce the CO2 emissions of producing cars in Europe by 6.9 Mt in 2030, new analysis shows. That’s equivalent to avoiding the annual emissions of 3.5 million fossil fuel cars. Switching to 40% green steel would... Read more →

Porsche and Norwegian aluminum company Hydro have contractually specified the possibility of delivering carbon-reduced primary aluminum as well as secondary aluminum with a high proportion of recycled material. Within their technical collaboration, Porsche and Hydro are also testing where aluminum with an even higher proportion of recycled material can be... Read more →

An open-access published in Nature Communications reports that the use of a novel sub-class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in lithium-ion batteries is a growing source of pollution in air and water. Testing by the research team further found these PFAS, called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs), demonstrate environmental persistence and... Read more →

Swiss Steel Group, a leading producer of steel using electric arc furnaces (EAF), emphasises the importance of precise data in sustainable steel production. With more than 2.2 million tonnes of scrap processed each year, the company is not only one of the largest recycling companies in Europe, but also a... Read more →

Renault Group has joined the New Energies Coalition for Transport and Logistics. Renault Group Supply Chain is committed to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030, compared to 2019. Initiated by the CMA CGM Group in 2019, the New Energies Coalition brings together the world’s leading international logistics chains... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that General Motors (GM) has agreed to retire approximately 50 million metric tons (megagrams) of greenhouse gas credits to resolve excess CO2 emissions identified through EPA’s light-duty vehicle in-use testing program. This agreement is the result of an EPA investigation that identified excess... Read more →

Blastr Green Steel signed a partnership agreement with Belgium-based Lhoist, a global leader in lime, dolime, and mineral solutions, to develop a scalable decarbonized value chain for ultra-low CO₂ steel production in Europe. Blastr and Lhoist aim to reach an agreement on the future supply of Lhoist’s LEVEL|GREEN low carbon... Read more →

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) announced that the agency’s independent Hearing Board has ordered Tesla to correct air quality violations at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Fremont. A written order is expected to be issued this week. The Air District sought the abatement order to stop... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that applications are open for $850 million in federal funding for projects that will help monitor, measure, quantify and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors. (DE-FOA-0003256) Oil and natural gas facilities are the... Read more →

Air pollution now ranks as the second leading risk factor for death, accounting for 8.1 million deaths globally according to HEI’s new State of Global Air 2024 report. The new report provides a comprehensive analysis of data for air quality and health impacts for countries around the world in 2021.... Read more →

ArcelorMittal and ZF signed a memorandum of understanding combining ArcelorMittal’s XCarb recycled and renewably produced steel and ZF’s manufacturing. XCarb recycled and renewably produced steel is produced in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), using high levels of scrap and 100% renewable electricity for the EAF smelting process, backed by Guarantees... Read more →

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O)—a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential approximately 300 times larger than carbon dioxide—continued unabated between 1980 and 2020, a year when more than 10-million metric tons were released into the atmosphere primarily through farming practices, according to a new report by the Global Carbon... Read more →

Polestar is taking the next steps in reducing its supply chain emissions by integrating renewable fuels on its ocean freight routes, which account for around 75% of Polestar’s total transportation emissions. Polestar is now also operating its Vehicle Processing Centre (VPC) in Belgium on 100% renewable electricity. The VPC acts... Read more →

Results from the world’s first in-flight study of the impact of using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in both engines of a commercial aircraft show a reduction in soot particles and formation of contrail ice crystals compared to using conventional Jet A-1 fuel. The ECLIF3 study (earlier post), in which... Read more →

A team from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology has enhanced ammonia combustion using pre-chamber turbulent jet combined with a post spark ignition (TJ-PSI) strategy. A paper on their work is published in the journal Fuel. Wu et al. As a hydrogen carrier, ammonia has the advantages of high... Read more →

BASF has set itself the ambitious goal of reducing its Scope 3.1 emissions by 15% across its entire portfolio by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050. This will only be possible by procuring raw materials with reliable PCF (Product Carbon Footprint) primary data and, furthermore, raw materials with a... Read more →

Lhyfe, a producer of green and renewable hydrogen, and Ugitech, a subsidiary of Swiss Steel Group, a leader in long stainless steel products, signed of a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a green hydrogen production unit at Ugitech’s Ugine site (Savoie, France), to decarbonize part of the steelmaker’s... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced $148 million in grants to 11 states and Puerto Rico under the first round of a new $400-million program to improve air quality and reduce pollution for truck drivers, port workers and families that live in communities surrounding ports. The Reduction... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the nearly $1-billion Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program to fund the replacement of certain polluting heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission vehicles. Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA will award competitive grants for projects that will reduce climate and air pollution from heavy-duty vehicles,... Read more →

Ryanair is Europe’s top CO2-emitting airline for the third year in a row, according to a new study on 2023 aviation emissions by green group Transport & Environment (T&E). Lufthansa and British Airways are the second and third biggest emitters, but are still below their pre-Covid levels of flying. Budget... Read more →

ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products and Polmotors, a leading international player in the global market of metal forming and automotive components assembly, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is focused on reducing CO2 emissions in the supply chain as well as using XCarb solutions. The MoU between ArcelorMittal... Read more →

A team from Iran and Finland has investigated ammonia/diesel RCCI (reactivity-controlled compression ignition) combustion, (earlier post); a paper on their work is published in the journal Fuel. Representation of RCCI engine. Fakhari et al. The reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion mode presents a promising avenue for overcoming the challenges intrinsic... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3,” that sets stronger standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty (HD) vehicles beginning in model year (MY) 2027. The new standards will be applicable to HD vocational vehicles (such... Read more →

BASF is now the first manufacturer to offer AdBlue as a ZeroPCF variant with a certified CO2 footprint (product carbon footprint = PCF) of <0.05 kg per kilogram of AdBlue. This value includes the amount of CO2 emitted in connection with the product during production up to the site gate... Read more →

Used primarily in high-voltage electrical switchgear in electric power grids, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is one of the most potent greenhouse gases on Earth. The GWP of SF6 is 24,300 that of CO2, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). In the 21st century, atmospheric... Read more →

Transport alone is set to make up nearly half of Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030, new Transport & Environment (T&E) analysis shows. European transport emissions have increased by more than a quarter since 1990, and T&E’s State of European Transport analysis finds that while emissions across the wider... Read more →

EPA announced a final rule, Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles, that sets new, more protective standards to further reduce air pollutant emissions from light-duty and medium-duty vehicles starting with model year 2027. The final standards will significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases... Read more →

Stellantis is partnering with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to further the automaker’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions from new light-duty vehicles and commitment to zero-emissions technology, including through investments in charging infrastructure. Under the agreement, Stellantis will contribute to save more than 10 million additional metric tons of greenhouse... Read more →

In California, an increase in power sector greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from in-state generation, in recent years is offsetting progress made in the transportation sector, and threatening the state’s goals overall, according to the 15th annual California Green Innovation Index, released by the nonpartisan nonprofit Next 10 and prepared by... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and California Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $46-million settlement with engine manufacturer Cummins. The settlement resolves DOJ and CARB’s claims for violations of California engine emissions control and certification requirements. Cummins made undisclosed changes to approximately 120,000 engines in California after CARB had... Read more →

The European Parliament has adopted the deal reached with the Council on the Euro 7 regulation (type-approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles). Vehicles will need to comply with the new standards for longer, ensuring they remain cleaner throughout their lifetime. The vote was 297 in favor, 190 against and... Read more →