Vehicle fuel efficiency is one of the most important considerations for automotive manufacturers. That's because governments worldwide have established aggressive goals to curb emissions in the next decade and beyond. In fact, nations representing the world's 20 leading industrialized and emerging economies (and 90 percent of new vehicle sales) have adopted policies to reduce fuel consumption, air pollution and carbon emissions. Here are some highlights related to key regulations for the vehicle industry around the world.
The United States
According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), cars and light-duty trucks make up about 60 percent of transportation emissions in the US. That is larger than the power sector in the US, and it has been since 2015. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, most of which are carbon dioxide (CO
2).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) established Phase I of the US National Program for emissions control in 2010. As part of Phase II (covering automotive model years 2017-2025) of the program, fuel economy standards have been set to reduce average global warming emissions of new passenger cars and light trucks even further. The goal is to improve fuel economy through a combination of fuel efficiency improvements and through optimizing related vehicle components such as air conditioners.
Uncertainty in the US
The EPA and the NHTSA have proposed a set of new and revised standards. The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (also called the SAFE Vehicles Rule) is the first formal step. Among the proposed rules is a preferred alternative that locks in model year 2020 standards until 2026. Another, according to the EPA, is the establishment of a new 50-state passenger car and light truck fuel economy and tailpipe CO
2 emissions standard covering 2021 through 2026.
In addition, the EPA is proposing to revoke California's authority to establish GHG emissions standards. A California-led coalition of states has sued to challenge that.
European Union
In April the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/631, which set CO
2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles in the EU after 2020. The document sets a 15 percent emission reduction target for 2025 on both sets of vehicles, with a 37.5 percent reduction set for cars and a 31 percent reduction for vans by 2030.
The European Union has also set a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
China
A new program for the world's largest auto market, known as China 6, is scheduled to start in July 2020. These regulations are among the most aggressive in the world. For the first time, China light-duty emissions standards will include more stringent emission limits and compliance procedures than the EU, which China has followed up to this point.
While the EU is rolling out its regulations in five-year stages, China 6 includes a first phase from 2020-2023 (China 6a) followed by China 6b, which will impose tougher standards in July of 2023. Immediately as part of 6a, China will apply particulate number (PN) limits to all gasoline powered cars (in Europe, the PN only applies to gasoline direct injection vehicles). That means far more cars in China, including hybrids, will require gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) to hit the particulate emission targets.
An additional challenge: in China, emission control devices in light-duty vehicles must perform to meet the new standards for 160,000 km (about 100,000 mi) and 200,000 km (about 124,000 mi) in 2023.
Japan
A historical leader in the creation and adoption of emissions and fuel efficiency standards, Japan is on the tail end of an effort to reduce transportation sector GHG emissions 40 percent from 2000 levels. In June, Japan also issued new fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles starting in model year 2030. For gas vehicles, an average of 25.4 km per liter will be required – a 32.4 percent improvement over fiscal year 2016.
Emission Control Solutions from 3M
As emission control evolves and automotive OEM and Tier suppliers tighten variability requirements in emission control systems, 3M continues to provide solutions to help meet increasingly stringent rules and regulations worldwide. Our 3M™ Interam™ Brand Products include a full range of mat mounts and thermal insulation designed to maximize performance and fuel efficiency, as well as add durability to catalytic converter assemblies and other emission control devices.
3M™ Interam™ Mat Mount and 3M™ Interam™ Thermal Insulation products are designed to retain heat in the exhaust system and protect surrounding componentry. Materials are available for high-temperature and low-temperature systems in gasoline and diesel applications. Specific solutions include intumescent, non-intumescent and hybrid mat mounts, endcone insulation, heat-shield insulation, erosion protection materials and more. We are constantly designing and improving product process performance for long term durability.
Our support for engine exhaust emission control includes testing resources, concept consultation, design and technical expertise at every phase of system development.
For more information, visit our
3M Powertrain – ICE Solutions page.
(Sources:)
https://www.c2es.org/content/regulating-transportation-sector-carbon-emissions
https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/fuel-efficiency/fuel-economy-basics.html
https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/timeline-major-accomplishments-transportation-air
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100XI4W.pdf (PDF, 212 Kb)
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/us-epa-and-dot-propose-fuel-economy-standards-my-2021-2026-vehicles
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/regulation_en
https://www.nqa.com/en-gb/resources/legal-updates/june-2019/co2-emission-performance
https://www.transportpolicy.net/standard/china-light-duty-emissions/
https://www.lubrizoladditives360.com/china-6-worlds-challenging-emissions-standard/
https://theicct.org/japan (2020)
https://theicct.org/publications/japan-2030-fuel-economy-standards (2030)