Millbrook is upgrading its operational capacity to support the heavy-duty and commercial vehicle industry in meeting air quality and CO₂ targets.
The company is superseding its iconic Variable Temperature Emissions Chamber (VTEC) with a brand-new vehicle emissions test facility capable of handling up to 60 tons of inertia and 4WD vehicles.
The facility will be climatically controlled from -30°C to +50°C and used primarily to test buses, trucks and off-highway vehicles for emissions, fuel and lubricant performance and climatic performance.
It has also been 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 and energy technologies; as well as the gearbox and engine oils.
It will also have the capability to perform the full range of current vehicle emissions tests to determine whether a vehicle meets the requirements for clean air zones across Europe.
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.”
The new 4WD heavy-duty vehicle emissions test facility is part-funded by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) investment, through the Local Growth Fund.