• What is SCR?
• Performance
• Environment
• Public Health Impact
• Diesel Exhaust Fluid

LOUISVILLE, KY, March 19, 2009 – Byron J. Bunker, Center Director, Heavy-Duty Onroad Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today thanked truck and engine industry executives and the diesel exhaust fluid supply chain for their commitment to the development, commercialization and advocacy of technologies to reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality in line with 2010 emissions targets – targets Bunker says provide “huge health and welfare benefits for the hearts, lungs and lives of truckers as well as communities.”

“No one seeks regulation, but the EPA recognizes the efforts of the industry leadership here today as well as those of companies not in attendance for standing up and taking these responsibilities seriously, bringing products to the market that reduce emissions to near-zero levels while providing a value proposition for their customers.”

FactsAboutSCR.com publisher Chuck Mattina, president and COO of Quixote Group, an independent research firm involved in studying the industry, moderated the Summit and facilitated a follow-up question and answer panel discussion among chief executives from the six major truck and engine brands offering SCR technology. Panelists also included executives at diesel exhaust fluid infrastructure partners and two of the major truck stop chains.

Chris Patterson, president & CEO Daimler Trucks North America (Freightliner, Western Star and Detroit Diesel brands) opened his remarks stating “this may be the only time you see the world’s three largest producers of heavy duty diesel engines in violent agreement about anything! Our companies produce the only engines in volume production today that will still be available after the new standard comes into effect. So when we say that our engines will burn up to 5 percent less diesel fuel after the first of the year, we speak with authority born of experience.”

Per Carlsson, president & CEO Volvo Trucks North America said,” There are currently no production trucks – anywhere in the world – that deliver 0.5 grams of NOx with EGR only. Never mind the 0.2 gram standard that we’re achieving with SCR – a standard that the competition is going to have to meet once its bank of credits is exhausted.”

Denny Slagle, president & CEO Mack Trucks, Inc. said, “We use EGR today. We know it puts additional stress on an engine. We know it generates a lot of heat, even at today’s levels. We know it presents challenges in engine performance and fuel economy. We’re managing all of this extraordinarily well today. But we’ve reached the limit of what can be accomplished with EGR. More is definitely not better…And there’s no way around fuel economy and performance penalties. This isn’t marketing – it’s science, pure and simple.”

Jim Kelly, president of Engine Business Cummins Inc., talked about the advantages of an SCR plus EGR solution (the generally accepted standard for SCR systems) over an “in-cylinder” or EGR-only solution for meeting EPA 2010 standards. According to Kelly, Cummins has found SCR offers lower heat rejection, higher power and torque for a given displacement, less complexity, wider operating “sweet spot,” and is the only solution that can meet 2010 emissions regulations and deliver a fuel economy improvement.

Bill Mulligan, vice president of development, facilities & environmental for Pilot Travel Centers, reported that orders would be placed for diesel exhaust fluid dispensing equipment in the 2nd quarter of 2009 for 25 bulk locations to be operational in the 4th quarter of the year, followed by the addition of 25 bulk locations each succeeding quarter through 3rd quarter 2010. In addition, Mulligan said all 310 Pilot facilities will have DEF available in prepackaged containers by December 2009.

Tom O’Brien, president & CEO of TravelCenters of America/Petro Stopping Centers, showed examples of the 2.5 gallon pre-packaged containers for DEF that will be available at retail across 234 TA and Petro sites. O’Brien added that DEF will be available in bulk at key locations and available at more than 1000 service bays across the truck stop chain as well as through emergency fills delivered by over 400 RoadSquad service trucks.

Barry Lonsdale, president of Terra Environmental Technologies, said that since the CO2 capacity of diesel fuel is 10 times greater than DEF, the fuel economy delivered with SCR results in a smaller carbon footprint than the equivalent EGR solution. Lonsdale reiterated that DEF is non-hazardous according to OSHA criteria and stable, with a shelf-life that is at least one year. He also reported on a new quality control point of difference for North America, citing the American Petroleum Institute and its development of the first-ever DEF certification program.

A milestone event by any standards, the SCR CEO Summit marks the official beginning of the SCR/DEF rollout for 2010 and represents a unique convergence of thought, performance, advocacy and collaboration across an entirely new supply chain.

Each company provided the back story behind its decisions to commit to SCR technology for meeting the 2010 standing, providing insights into the how and why decisions were made and including the viewpoints and findings of more than a decade of research and testing leading to the investment of resources as well as their commitment to production.

The event was facilitated by FactsAboutSCR.com on behalf of the North American SCR Stakeholders Group, a coalition of more than 200 companies, associations and agencies involved in the rollout of SCR and the DEF infrastructure to support it. FactsAboutSCR.com is a cross-industry news and information resource dedicated to “all SCR all the time” updates on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the commercial vehicles sector. The new site is the first-of-its-kind dedicated to the introduction of SCR emissions control technology and the rollout of the SCR-enabling diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) infrastructure which will be need to be in place to meet fleet and drivers’ needs as well as EPA 2010 emissions control requirements.

As active members of the North American SCR Stakeholders Group, Quixote Group helped OEM Stakeholders, including Detroit Diesel Corporation, Daimler Trucks North America, Volvo Trucks North America, Cummins and PACCAR trucks, who recognized the differing needs of the heavy duty sector, to facilitate the first ever Heavy Duty SCR Workshop at the Department of Energy’s Diesel Engine Emissions and Energy Research Conference in August 2008. At that time, the site, and its sister site, TruckSCR.com, were created as education tools, providing relevant, timely and peer-reviewed information on all things SCR. Topics on the site include:
What is SCR?, SCR Performance Advantage, Environment, Public Health Impact and Diesel Exhaust Fluid.

Technorati Tags: EPA 2010, SCR Technology, NOx, CEO Summit, Fuel Advantage, Chris Patterson, Per Carlsson, Denny Slagle, Jim Kelly, Bill Mulligan, Tom O'Brien, Barry Lonsdale