Zemo Partnership (formerly LowCVP) has published an updated Clean Vehicle Retrofit Technology Guide to highlight the role that retrofit technologies can play in cleaning up the existing vehicle fleet.

The updated guide comes following the introduction of the Bath Clean Air Zone this week, with Birmingham to launch on 1 June and others to follow.

The Clean Vehicle Retrofit Technology Guide aims to give vehicle operators and local authorities an understanding of national air quality frameworks for reducing roadside NO2 concentrations, providing case studies with examples of a range of accredited retrofit technologies that achieve Euro VI-equivalent levels of emissions through the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS). The Guide covers technologies accredited for buses, coaches, trucks, refuse collection vehicles and black cabs.

NOx abatement technologies such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Euro VI engine repower can provide cost-effective alternatives to purchasing new CAZ or ULEZ-compliant vehicles. Of course, retrofitting a fully electric drivetrain will also eliminate tailpipe emissions, but these too need to be accredited to ensure robust standards. Case studies and total cost of ownership (TCO) examples for accredited technologies are included in the guide to direct readers to the most suitable solution.

The CVRAS standards have also been adopted by Transport Scotland and Transport for London (TfL), so that a vehicle with CVRAS-approved technology installed is identified in the central national database and can enter Low Emission Zones in Scotland, CAZs across England and the ULEZ in London, without receiving a penalty charge. It’s important to note that only CVRAS-approved retrofits are compliant with the emission zone standards.

Zemo Partnership’s Project Manager, Dan Hayes, said: “Retrofit solutions have been one of the key ’tools in the box‘ to help owners of existing vehicles meet the strengthening emissions requirements without completely replacing their fleet in one go.

“Twenty years ago the uptake of particulate traps was accelerated in this way and, today, NOx reduction technologies (mandated on all new vehicles) are now available to be retrofitted to a wide range of commercial vehicles. With funding support available in many local areas, retrofitting can be an attractive option for hard pressed operators to clean up emissions from existing vehicles.”

The CVRAS Register is a useful free tool to identify which CVRAS-approved companies and emission reduction systems suit vehicles best, based on make, model and engine type to support companies’ efforts to improve their fleets, and lists the only retrofit options available that comply with the Clean Air Zones, Ultra Low Emission Zones, and Low Emission Zones.  The Register is available here.

A digital download of the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Technology Guide is available here.