Partnership enables real-time estimation of NOx emissions

Tohumcu continued: “Through Tantalum’s solution and unique patents, we are within reach of this goal. Imagine your vehicle giving you routes that avoid sensitive areas such as schools while rewarding you financially for driving in a manner that saves fuel and reduces emissions. Your vehicle then automatically pays specific emissions charges based on where, when and how you drive. We are working with Imperial College and cities around the world to make this vision a reality. We are delighted to have been awarded the Innovate UK grant, as it confirms Tantalum’s place as the leading connected vehicle innovator and reinforces Tantalum’s vision to put our automotive and data science expertise towards improving everyone’s quality of life. We look forward to making this a reality.”

The £1m grant was awarded to Tantalum by Innovate UK, the UK Government’s innovation agency, to develop real-time NO_x emissions estimation capability. The ability to correlate real-time emissions data with location, driver behaviour and time information will create new opportunities for city planners and individuals alike to reduce their vehicle’s environmental impact.

Tantalum already has real-time CO₂ emissions estimation capabilities, protected by a suite of patents.

NO_x emissions lead to NO₂, a poisonous gas that irritates the lungs and affects children’s lung development. Towns and cities across the UK have dangerous levels of NO₂ significantly over legally allowed limits, with streets in London breaking annual limits within a week. Air pollution is a global problem with increasing urbanisation and congestion pushing it to the top of the agenda for major cities around the world.

The UK Government is soon to publish its new action plan to improve air quality with an expected increased number of Clean Air Zones around the country. Once developed Tantalum’s Air.Car services will be able to help deliver the emissions reductions required in a smarter, cheaper and fairer way than some of the blunter instruments proposed.

Imperial College London will assist in developing and verifying Tantalum’s ability to accurately estimate NO_x emissions. Once completed, Tantalum’s system will help to reduce CO₂ and NO_x emissions, saving drivers fuel and maintenance costs while hugely reducing the environmental impact of their vehicles. Tantalum’s real-time CO₂ emissions product has already helped customers save an average of 15% in fuel costs through better driving and this could also reduce NO_x emissions by up to 50%.

Tantalum’s solution can be connected to any vehicle’s on-board computer. Combining the emissions data streams with the vehicle’s location and driver behaviour will inform drivers and public authorities of the real environmental impact of individual vehicles. The solution will deliver the ability to enforce a genuinely dynamic road charging scheme based on actual vehicle emissions: fairer and cheaper than the blunt instruments currently being proposed, which rely on blanket camera coverage and do not motivate better driving.

A major part of Tantalum’s Air.Car project is a 1,000 vehicle trial starting in autumn, to test and fine tune the solution. Tantalum is recruiting fleets from the public and commercial sectors as part of this trial, which will run within London and other UK cities where Clean Air Zones are to be established.

The Tantalum Air.Car project will also produce rich data sets, which will be able to improve emission factors to better inform government on the interplay between congestion, vehicle types and air pollution, helping them to plan cleaner, smarter and healthier cities.

Dr Marc Stettler from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London said: “We are very excited to be involved in the Air.Car project, as it illustrates how Imperial’s research expertise and world-class facilities can deliver practical and real-world solutions to the environmental problems facing our rapidly growing cities.”