Feedback Invited by May 21
New NGV amendments to existing regulations are under discussion within the United Nations. Changes in these regulations are very important to the industry since they provide a legal basis for natural gas vehicle equipment and related equipment manufacturers as well as for retrofitting vehicles to run on natural gas (and LPG). Many countries who have signed various UN treaties are legally bound to abide by these regulations. The regulations also frequently serve as models for countries developing their own regulations even if they are not part of the UN conventions. It is important, therefore, that equipment manufacturers keep a close watch on the regulatory activities at the UN and provide comments back to the IANGV to enable the association to provide the best possible representation of the industry’s interests.
The United Nations the Group of Experts on General Safety (GRSG) met in
Geneva on 24th April 2008. The GRSG is now taking on
non-emissions-related issues for NGVs and LPG that previously were
under the domain of the Group of Experts on Pollution and Energy
(GRPE). Both of these groups are within the umbrella of Working Party
29, Worldwide Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.
One NGV amendment was on the table, related to the use of the term
‘burst disc’ side-by-side with the more formal reference, Pressure
Relieve Device (PRDs). The text was prepared by the expert from Italy
to amend the text of the Regulation R-110 (Specific Components for CNG)
with regard to provisions concerning the pressure relief device
(pressure triggered), the burst disc as well as some editorial
amendments. That amendment, ECE /Trans/WP.29/GRPE/2007/13, was passed
after some additional editorial changes from the chair were made after
comments by the Dutch delegation and the IANGV. The original amendment
to Regulation 110 (specific components of CNG) can be downloaded by
visiting
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29grpe/grpedoc_2007.html. (This version does not yet reflect the relatively small changes that
were adopted on the 24th April.)
The Informal Group of Gaseous Fuelled Vehicles (GFV) was created in
2007 to provide a forum for discussing various NGV and LPG amendments
to Regulation 115 in advance of the larger GRPE meetings. The attempt
is to streamline the development and passage of various amendments by
developing a consensus among interested gaseous fuel stakeholders.
Amendments can still be submitted directly to the GRPE, however, the
faster route would be through the new GFV, which currently has a
mandate through the end of 2009. André Rijnders a Senior Engineer
with the RDW, Vehicle Standards Development in the Netherlands chairs
the informal group. Arnaud Duvielguerbigny from the European
Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (AEGPL) and Jeff Seisler, Vice
President of Government Relations for the IANGV share the secretariat
position in support of the Chairman. The next meeting of the GFV will
be on 3 June 2008 at Palais Nations in Geneva from 09.30 to 12.30. The
full GRPE meeting will be on the 4-5 June at the UN in Geneva.
Two major amendments with potentially wide-ranging impact have been
submitted by the experts from Poland and Italy (GFV-02-04 and GFV-02-05
respectively). The Polish amendment is a complex document with numbers
of technical corrections as well as changes potentially affecting NGV
and LPG retrofitters that need the attention and input from the NGV
retrofit experts. The Italian amendment deals with changes to
references in Regulation 115 of the Total Hydrocarbon (THC) regulation
originating in the new Euro 5/6 Light Duty Vehicle emissions
regulations, which is tied to the European Regulation 83 on emissions.
This amendment to Regulation 115 could help save the NGV retrofit
technologies from extinction if the European THC regulations, which
typically are adopted at the UN level, can be exempted (or modified)
for the NGV retrofit industry.
The documents for discussion at the upcoming meeting of the GFV can be
downloaded by visiting
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29grpe/gfv02.html.
The documents considered in the first meeting of the GFV can be
downloaded by visiting
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29grpe/gfv01.html. Two
amendments from the first meeting, Documents GFV-01-09 and GFV-01-10,
will be carried over for discussion at the June meeting.
Industry experts are strongly encouraged to review these various
documents and provide comments back to authors of the amendments and to
Jeff Seisler by 21st May 2008 at the latest to:
jseisler@cleanfuelsconsulting.org.
Jeffrey Seisler is the CEO of Clean Fuels Consulting, based in
Brussels. Visit www.cleanfuelsconsulting.org for more information
about UN and European legislative affairs.
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