City of Haifa to retrofit 700 diesel vehicles with particulate filters

16 March 2016

The City of Haifa, Israel, will retrofit 700 diesel vehicles with diesel particulate filters (DPF). The project—which will be supported by funding from the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection—follows a DPF demonstration project conducted in Israel by the VERT Association.

The Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) has announced NIS 11 million (US$2.8 million) to fund the installation of particulate filters in about 700 diesel vehicles—ranging from heavy trucks and buses to light commercial vehicles. In order to qualify for the MoEP funding, DPF installations must be performed at authorized vehicle service stations. Under a MoEP tender, vehicle service stations in the Haifa area have until May 4, 2016 to submit proposals to be placed on the list of authorized DPF installation shops.

The initiative is part of the Haifa Bay Action Plan to Reduce Pollution and Environmental Risks. Under the plan, a low emission zone (LEZ) is being created in the Haifa area, which will be restricted to diesel vehicles that are not fitted with particulate filters. Subsidies are also provided for the purchase of natural gas fueled buses.

In January, VERT completed a pilot DPF project in Tel Aviv, which involved 18 buses fitted with 3 types of DPF systems. The average particle number (PN) filtration efficiency at the end of the tests was 98.2%, according to Andreas Mayer of VERT. Some early results of the study, including tests with a catalyzed DPF by Dinex, were published in a 2015 Atmospheric Environment paper.

Source: VERT Association