Millbrook Proving Ground is increasing its operational capacity to support the heavy-duty and commercial vehicle industry in meeting air quality and CO₂ targets.
The UK-based operation is replacing its iconic Variable Temperature Emissions Chamber (VTEC) with a brand-new vehicle emissions test facility capable of handling even heavier vehicles (up to 60 tonnes of inertia) and 4WD vehicles.
The facility will be climatically controlled from -30°C to +50°C (-22 to +122°F) and used primarily to test buses, trucks and off-highway vehicles for emissions, fuel, lubricant and climatic performance. It is also designed to test electric vehicles; to determine energy consumption, range and energy efficiency; and to test vehicles using alternative fuels such as hydrogen, LNG and CNG for range, emissions and fuel consumption over a drive cycle.
The new test facility will measure the effect on CO₂ emissions of a range of technologies including the heat recovery system, retrofit emissions/energy technologies and gearbox and engine oils. It will continue to support the full range of existing schemes for large vehicles, including the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS), LowCVP’s HGV Accreditation Scheme and the UK Bus Cycle (UKBC).
It will also have the capability to perform the full range of current vehicle emissions tests to determine whether a vehicle meets the strict requirements for clean air zones across Europe, such as the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and Germany’s environmental zones, and the French Crit’Air air quality certificate scheme.
Alex Burns, president of Millbrook, said “We are committed to supporting the development of heavy-duty vehicle technologies, whether our customers are targeting improvements in energy efficiency in an electric bus or reduction in truck CO₂ emissions. Our experts in vehicle testing, homologation and approvals are always on hand and our facilities are world-class. Both are constantly evolving to provide more to our customers.”