EPA Certifies 2010 Engines from Volvo, Mack Trucks

This story appears in the Nov. 23 print edition of Transport Topics.

Federal and California environmental regulators have certified 2010 engines of AB Volvo’s two North American brands — Volvo and Mack — the companies said Nov. 16. They are the first engine manufacturers to gain official approval.

Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks Inc., both of Greensboro, N.C., said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board certified 11- and 13-liter engines for each original equipment manufacturer. Approval of their 16-liter power plants is expected early next year. All heavy-duty Volvo and Mack engines use selective catalytic reduction technology to meet the 2010 emissions standards.

Rival engine manufacturers Cummins Inc. and Detroit Diesel Corp. also have filed 2010 certification applications with EPA and CARB for their SCR engines, but have not yet received approval.

“EPA’s certification of these engines is a crucial milestone in Volvo’s journey to producing the cleanest diesel engines in the world,” said Scott Kress, Volvo’s senior vice president for sales and marketing.

“Achieving certification involved many dedicated employees working for many years,” said Kevin Flaherty, a Mack senior vice president.

EPA has been tightening U.S. emissions standards on nitrogen oxide compounds and particulate matter from diesel engines for much of this decade, having done so most recently in January 2007 and before that in October 2002.

On Jan. 1, the federal standard for NOx, a major component of smog, drops to 0.2 gram per brake horsepower-hour from 1.2 grams per unit of output. The 2010 federal standard for particulate matter, or soot, will remain at 0.01 g/bhp-hr, where it was set in 2007.

Mack spokesman John Walsh described a rolling and fluid certification process.

“Regarding EPA, we filed the major portion of our application July 1 and then, as planned, submitted additional information in early October and worked with the agency on some final inquiries up until recently,” Walsh said.

While Mack and Volvo make only Class 8 trucks in North America, Cummins, the only independent truck engine maker, is seeking approval for heavy-duty and midrange products.

“Cummins has submitted all required paperwork and supporting documentation for the EPA certification of our 2010 on-highway engines. We have been working closely with the EPA throughout the year in preparation for the certification process and therefore don’t anticipate any issues with EPA and CARB certification for our 2010 products,” said Christy Nycz, spokeswoman for the engine business of Cummins Inc.

“We expect the certificates for our 2010 full production engines to be issued very soon,” she added.

The company’s 2010 engine lineup is scheduled to include the ISX in 12- and 15-liter versions for heavy-duty trucks and three midrange power plants — ISL 9-liter, ISC 8-liter and ISB 6.7-liter.

Detroit Diesel Corp., a division of Daimler Trucks North America, filed papers with EPA in late September for its DD13 and DD15 models (click here for previous story). Daimler also makes Freightliner and Western Star trucks.

Cummins and DDC are both using SCR for 2010.

Among other engine makers, Caterpillar Inc. is leaving the North American truck engine market as of Dec. 31 and will not offer a 2010 product.

Paccar Inc., corporate parent of Kenworth Trucks and Peterbilt Motors, will use Cummins engines and is also introducing an in-house line of SCR power plants based

on its DAF engines, which are sold in Europe. A company executive declined to discuss certification details.

Earlier this year, Paccar said its Columbus, Miss., plant for 9- and 13-liter engines was substantially completed, but the start of production was not scheduled until the second half of next year. However, the company also has the option of selling imported DAF engines in the United States, as long as they are certified by EPA.

Navistar Inc., the maker of International brand trucks and MaxxForce engines, also will seek certification for three heavy-duty and four medium-duty engines. It is the only OEM using exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR.

Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley said the OEM has begun the certification process but not yet filed a formal submission.

“We’ll go into production next year, but we don’t have a timeline for truck engines yet,” he said.

The company might get approval for its school bus engines first, Wiley said.

“We’re ready for 2010 with our advanced EGR engines, and for those who say we won’t be, we say ‘poppycock,’ ” he said.