Paccar chooses SCR path to 2010

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Paccar has joined Daimler Trucks and Volvo Trucks in committing to selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as the preferred technology to meet the nitrogen oxides (NOx)-cutting demands of upcoming 2010 engine requirements.

In its earnings statement released this week, Paccar — the parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth — said it would use SCR in combination with its current exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology.

Starting in 2010, NOx emissions must be reduced by nearly 90 percent from the 2007 standard.

The Paccar-branded DAF engine the company is rolling out for the North American market next year already meets European emission standards via SCR.

Craig Brewster, Paccar’s assistant vice president, said the truckmaker is working with SCR distributors to ensure the distribution infrastructure is in place by the time the engines hit the road.

Other manufacturers, such as International, have already declared they will not be going with SCR for 2010.

When asked about the future of SCR by TodaysTrucking.com at last week’s Heavy Duty Dialogue in Las Vegas, International President Dee Kapur answered pointedly: “We don’t like it.”

He says he doesn’t think manufacturers, suppliers and truckstops can build a mature infrastructure for urea in time. Urea is the Nitrogen-based reducing agent in SCR that, when injected into the exhaust gas upstream of the catalyst, eliminates NOx. (see “Two-tiered market for 2010 engines?” article linked below for more on this)

Cummins, meanwhile, has also rejected SCR for on-highway class 8 applications, but will use it in its medium-duty engines. Cummins, incidentally, recently because the exclusive North American medium-duty supplier for Paccar trucks.