• Home
  • Projects
  • Reducing emissions of modern in-use vehicle technologies through retrofits
VERA Vehicle Emissions Retrofit Activity

VERA - Reducing emissions of modern in-use vehicle technologies through retrofits

Customer requirements

The Horizon Europe consortium programme VERA (Vehicle emissions retrofit activity) aims to develop and retrofit technologies to control NOx and/or particle emissions from early Euro 6 road vehicles and from rail rolling stock. Ricardo activity focuses on exhaust emissions, targeting affordable reduction of specific pollutants from gasoline light commercial vehicles, and aligning these with Euro 7 levels, but with additional engagement in the reduction of brake wear emissions from several vehicle types. 

Exhaust emissions targets are to reduce exhaust PN23 by 90% and NOx by 50-60%, with a cost <= 10% of the current market value of the vehicle.

Ricardo solution

Ricardo and partners will produce and retrofit a coated gasoline particle filter (GPF) targeting both NOx and PN reductions, and potentially explore the application of an ammonia oxidation catalyst (AMOX) to reduce ammonia emissions.

To date Ricardo’s experts have delivered the following support and benefits:

  • Identified a suitable, representative candidate vehicle for retrofit – a Euro 6b Citroën Berlingo PFI
  • Instrumented the vehicle exhaust, determined baseline emissions and prepared to receive the retrofit emissions control system unit
  • Developed a testing scheme to evaluate and validate the retrofit

Customer benefit

Retrofits, along with suitable policy (eg incentives) can enable older, higher emitting vehicles to enter ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) areas otherwise restricted to the newest Euro 7 vehicles, bringing environmental and societal benefits.

 

European flag

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101056893.

Client

UK Government (UK "safety net" and Innovate UK) and European Union (Horizon Europe programme)

Key Services

Vehicle retrofitting
Zero emission propulsion

Start and end dates

01/2023 - 12/2025

Duration

Three years

Location

Europe

Related case studies

View all case studies

Hazardous materials training: supporting the emergency services

Read case study

Electric vehicle sustainability and efficiency research

Read case study

Cyber security uplift project for rail organisation

Read case study