Remote Sensing Antwerp
20084
From 2021 to 2022
TML coordinated a campaign that used Remote Sensing equipment to collect more than 150,000 emission measurements, supplemented by road inspections by the police. The results provide insight into the effectiveness of emission standards and the detection of vehicles with faulty or disabled emission-reducing technology.
In this assignment, we collected at least 150,000 valid(ated) emission measurements with measuring equipment installed at the roadside for eight weeks. During this campaign, road inspections were also carried out in cooperation with the police and the Agency for Roads and Traffic. In the process, trucks causing excessive emissions as a result of defects or fraud mechanisms in exhaust purification technology were pulled over by the police for inspection and enforcement using Remote Sensing setups.
Incidents like dieselgate have shown that emission standards are often not in line with actual vehicle emissions. This rightly raises questions around the effectiveness of emission standards and measures like low-emission zones. The steps that have since been taken to bring actual emissions in line with the standard emissions raise hopes that this problem is off the table. However, another problem that arises, even with more correct adherence to standards, is that vehicles drive around with faulty or even deliberately switched off emission-reducing technology. This mainly concerns incorrect use of AdBlue (NOx reduction, especially in heavy trucks) and particulate filters (PM reduction, especially in passenger cars). This is done mainly with the intention of saving the user costs. Poor or non-functioning technology can lead to exceedances of standards by orders of magnitude, with consequent impact on urban air quality.
Vehicle inspection centres in Flanders are not currently equipped to detect such emissions problems. One technology that can help, however, is Remote Sensing (RS). Remote Sensing remotely measures the composition of the emission plume while the vehicle is driving, using specialised equipment. With this, the various components (pollutants) of the emissions can be detected and measured and we thus determine whether certain substances are being insufficiently processed. Remote Sensing measuring equipment is very flexible in use and shows results instantly, making it an ideal tool for the enforcement of emission standards.
For an eight-week period, the equipment was deployed at several sites to collect as much data as possible and identify any violations. During a limited number of days, roadside checks were carried out in cooperation with the police for an in-depth inspection of vehicles that showed elevated emission levels.
TML worked with technology partner OPUS to set up the measurement and enforcement campaign and analysed the collected data with a second partner (ICCT), who has carried out similar projects abroad.
