Let's Not Rush with Diesel

by Seppo Mikkonen (Neste) According to recent estimates, there will be a stop to diesel-fueled traffic. The resistance to diesel increased before Easter, when Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EU Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, predicted that diesel vehicles will “disappear from roads much faster than expected.”

Many may not have noticed that measures have already been taken to control diesel emissions. For the last ten years, the particulate matter emissions of new diesel-fueled cars have been very low thanks to particulate filters. In fact, the particulate, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions of diesel cars are lower than those of gasoline-fueled cars. For example, this was proven by the measurements conducted during the 2017 winter car test of Finnish magazine Tekniikan Maailma.

Furthermore, nitrogen oxide emissions have been reduced down to a fraction by using urea-based catalytic converters. On trucks and buses, these became common some five years ago, and their use in private cars will increase, starting from next fall. Only on the smallest private cars may the installation of purification technology be too expensive.

Diesel cars also have decent climate emissions, as they have a higher fuel economy than similar gasoline- or natural gas-fueled cars. In addition, diesel cars can run on 100% renewable fuel, which is not possible in the case of gasoline-fueled cars.

The leading article suspected that Finland's expertise in the manufacture of biodiesel will go to waste. Finland truly is a pioneer in renewable diesel, as we already have two major manufacturers, Neste and UPM, and new projects are under development. Neste is the world's largest manufacturer of renewable diesel and the only global operator in this field.

It is probable that electricity will become more common when it comes to private cars. Instead, diesel and middle distillates similar to diesel will remain the number one option for heavy, air and sea traffic. In these fields, renewable diesel and the modern vehicle technology combined with efficient purification of exhaust emissions are the key means to reduce emissions and energy consumption cost efficiently. READ MORE and MORE (The Guardian) and MORE (BBC) and MORE (The Telegraph) and MORE (NGT News)