How to define and achieve Zero-Impact emissions in road transport?

In a novel approach, emission and air pollution aspects are combined to determine vehicles that do not affect air quality. First, the term Zero-Impact Emissions is defined. A compliance test matrix is developed consisting of seven different scenarios, with individual boundary conditions such as dilution, ambient conditions, traffic volume, and cold start share. The average fleet emissions required to achieve Zero-Impact Emissions range from 33 mg/km NOx for an uphill Brenner drive down to 6 mg/km for a high-traffic highway. Finally, simulation models with stateof-the-art exhaust aftertreatment are used to test the scenarios for a gasoline passenger car and a light-duty diesel vehicle. The results demonstrate that Zero-Impact Emissions compliance depends strongly on the boundary conditions. In the High Alpine Uphill and High Traffic Brenner scenarios (typical emission worst-cases), this can already be achieved, while scenarios with high traffic volume or high cold start share require additional measures.

Automated summary

In a novel approach, the combination of emission and air pollution aspects is used to identify vehicles that do not impact air quality. This is done by defining the term "Zero-Impact Emissions" and developing a compliance test matrix with various scenarios and boundary conditions. Simulation models are then used to test different scenarios for gasoline and diesel vehicles, showing that achieving Zero-Impact Emissions depends on the specific boundary conditions.