Bosch Claims Emissions Breakthrough for Diesels

Robert Bosch GmbH says it has developed an emission control technique that could revive the future of diesels by slashing their output of nitrogen oxides nearly 90%.

CEO Volkmar Denner tells reporters the technology is inexpensive, available immediately and does not require additional hardware. He claims the system would enable a diesel to easily meet European NOx standards due in 2020.

Bosch offered few specifics about the technology itself. But Denner’s description strongly suggests the system is software-based and designed to better control exhaust system heat. Denner says the new technology can better manage exhaust temperatures, thereby keeping emissions stable over a wide range of ambient temperatures and driving conditions.

Ironically, Bosch has been the target of multiple investigations into the role of its diesel emission control software in the Volkswagen diesel emission cheating scandal. A year ago the supplier agreed to fund a $327 million VW customer compensation program in the U.S. for owners of 4- and 6-cylinder diesels.

German prosecutors continue to investigate possible wrongdoing by Bosch involving Audi, Porsche and Daimler diesels. Denner says Bosch now prohibits software that recognizes testing conditions or optimizes emissions specifically under those circumstances.

NOx is formed at the high temperatures generated by a diesel’s high-compression ignition process. Denner claims the new system eliminates dramatic differences sometimes found between NOx emissions measured in lab tests and on the road.

Such gaps have prompted European Union regulators to add real-world emission testing to their certification process. The issue also has prompted several cities and a few countries to declare plans to phase out diesels entirely.

Denner says the Bosch system makes those steps unnecessary and enables diesels, which have helped carmakers meet European carbon dioxide emission limits, to resume their “success story.”

Recent tests showed the Bosch system capable of slashing NOx emissions to an average 13 mg/km of NOx. By comparison, the 2020 European regulations will cut allowable emissions from 168 mg/km today to 120 mg/km.