Technology

Overview

Diesel has long been the energy source of choice for many industries as a versatile liquid fuel including key sectors of transportation and distributed/emergency power generation.  Increased global demand in both on-road and off-sectors transportation sectors, combined with rising use of diesel for electric generation in developing nations is creating strong demand for diesel worldwide. 

Central to the adoption of diesel worldwide is its high energy content, low cost, portability and reliability.  Diesel engines are important because they provide more power and better fuel economy when compared to conventional gasoline engines. A typical diesel engine gets an average of 35% greater fuel efficiency than an equivalent gasoline engine.  In regions with traditionally high fuel costs, such as Europe, diesel engines have also been widely adopted as passenger cars, where more than 50% of cars are diesel-based. The rapid escalation of world petroleum prices is expected to drive further adoption of diesel across the globe as governments, businesses and consumers seek better fuel efficiencies.

Climate change concerns are also driving adoption of diesel applications worldwide. The carbon footprint of diesel-powered applications is typically 20% lower than an equivalent gasoline solution. McKinsey & Company highlighted widespread adoption of diesel vehicles as a key “low hanging fruit” to cost effectively meet IPCC abatement targets for 2020 and beyond. The growing adoption of global carbon legislation and the trend of economy-wide expansion of cap-and-trade and/or carbon-tax programs to include the transportation sector will further drive the world penetration of diesel applications. This is complemented in part by current voluntary carbon programs driven by corporate sustainability agendas and is expected to grow significantly if mandatory carbon disclosure reporting comes into effect in the coming years.

Diesel engines, on the other hand, emit higher levels of two toxic pollutants, particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), than do gasoline engines fitted with catalytic converters. Both of these pollutants affect human health and damage the environment.

Clean Diesel Solutions for Regulated and Greenhouse Gas Emission

Faced with the increasing number of diesels, regulators around the world have introduced strict new emissions standards for all key diesel markets, including on-road, off-road, marine and locomotive. For example, on-road standards that began to come into effect in 2007 will by 2010 result in reductions in NOx and PM by up to 90 per cent from 2004 levels. On the local level, many countries are establishing low emission zones in non-attainment areas, enforcing the use of advanced emissions reduction as a condition to enter major cities, such as London.

Clean Diesel has succeeded in developing a world-class technology portfolio to meet and exceed these regulatory emission standards. In addition, many of Clean Diesel’s solutions also increase energy efficiency, reducing the overall carbon impact and direct financial costs of diesel applications.

The company’s technologies are available to the industry for license and as products through licensee partners (such as Bosch and Tenneco), our distributors and in some cases directly from Clean Diesel.