Greening buses and trucks * Europe - Commission's research centre opens new CO2 emissions testing laboratory

Green road transport is an important element of the Commission European Recovery Plan

Ispra,Italy -Europa Press Releases/RAPID -28 April 2009: -- Today European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik , opens a new facility for testing fuel consumption and emissions of trucks and buses. The new installation, "VELA 7" at the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Northern Italy), realistically simulates wind drag, tyre/road friction and full drive cycles for real-life articulated lorries of up to 40 tonnes or 12m long buses... It comes at a crucial time since implementation guidelines for new emission standards, notably the Euro VI regarding heavy duty vehicles, must be defined by 1st April 2010... The new high-tech test facility, the seventh in a series of Vehicle Emission Laboratories (VELA), contains an impressive roller bench in a climatic chamber to test exhaust gases from heavy duty vehicles with top- notch measuring equipment. It will enable JRC researchers to tackle the challenges in implementing current, and developing future, emission standards for lorries and buses by using test cycles that are very close to real life conditions... VELA-7 is one of the most advanced set-ups of its kind in the world and will provide independent, accurate and unbiased test results... (Photo: Emission test facility for heavy duty vehicles – Emission test on a tractor)