The International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles (IANGV) and NGVA Europe are participating in efforts to change the United Nations regulation 115 to exclude the total hydrocarbon limit value (THC) or, alternatively provide a methane emissions limit which is reasonable considering both costs and environmental aspects. This action ultimately is tied into further actions that would be aimed at changing European Union emission regulations (Euro 5/6), which today has both a THC and NMHC limit values.
The importance to the industry of these efforts cannot be overstated. Unless action is taken, aftermarket (retrofit) conversions of petroleum vehicles, which represent at least 90% of the 9 million NGVs worldwide, can functionally be prevented from entering the market or be excluded from various national fiscal incentives established for so-called clean cars. OEM NGV manufacturers will also face continued high compliance and homologation costs.
We currently need help from NGV stakeholders (globally but European particularly), both OEMs and conversion system developers and installers, to provide emissions data for their NGVs, both conversions and OEMs, specifying the appropriate emissions test cycle used and if a methane catalyst was used. This data can be provided confidentially to the IANGV but we would like to collect and distribute the unattributed data (i.e. to maintain confidentiality of the company and vehicles) to the European Commission, which is key to the success of this attempt to make current emissions limit values more favorable to the market development of NGVs. This data is required by early May to ensure we meet UN timetables.
Please follow this link for a full copy of the request and the rationale behind it.
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