Twilight of the carbon economy

Dusk approaches, but the denouement is unclear.  Will the flames of 2026 engulf fossil fuels, the internal combustion engine, electric vehicles or net zero?  Are we about to see the twilight of the carbon economy?  Or perhaps twilight of our environmental idols?

Nick Molden discusses with Chris Caldwell, CEO of United Renewables on his podcast Conversation on Climate.Nick and Chris discuss why electric vehicles may not be the future, the challenges and opportunities around adoption of electric vehicles.

Nick Molden, and former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt, have joined forces to confront the thorniest issues facing the industry. The podcast brings together two of the sector's most experienced independent analysts . Their podcast - Molden and Schmidt - is available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple and the Emissions Analytics website.

Nick Molden , CEO and Founder had the privilege of being invited onto CoMotions podcast. On the podcast Nick discusses the question on everyone’s mind how can we quickly and cheaply decarbonize mobility?

Our CEO & Founder, Nick Molden recently spoke at the Automotive Tire Technology 2024.

A surprisingly compelling subject
Dinner table, or social media, conversation may centre on arguments over which football team deserves to win the league, or whether the Mustang or Camaro is better, but the common feature of such polemics is that they represent simple and interesting questions. The topic of tyres, however, and if you dare raise it, may stun your companions into silence. Tyres are not simple and interesting. They are complex and boring – at least on the outside.

Our CEO & Founder, Nick Molden presented a webinar on the tyre emissions from the latest electric vehicles on 19th September 2023. The world is on a path to electrifying everything that moves, primarily driven by the desire to decarbonise. But no vehicle is zero emission, and the latest emissions regulations in Europe, the US and beyond are now starting to incorporate non-exhaust emissions.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt in an age of decarbonisation
Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.  This rhetorical triptych is increasingly used as an insult to describe interventions from anyone who deviates from the current environmental orthodoxy.  When French philosopher René Descartes sat down in the seventeenth century Netherlands to write his Discourse on Method, he also faced FUD.  

In our last newsletter we looked at the unethical challenge set by a high profile academic to see whether you would die if locked inside your garage with an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle running.

Fleet owners, policy makers and drivers now have access to independent, standardised vehicle ventilation ratings 

Emissions Analytics is thrilled to be featured in a groundbreaking news article by the University of Portsmouth. The article, titled "Study to Investigate Impact of Toxic Tyre Chemicals in UK Waters," sheds light on a crucial research endeavor that aims to understand the environmental consequences of tyre chemical pollutants.

An important and groundbreaking part of the proposed Euro 7 regulation involves setting a limit value for tyre wear emissions. This is particularly important as vehicles continue to become heavier, not least with the growing sales of battery electric vehicles.

Increasingly simplistic calls to #Stopburningstuff and #Stickyourselftothings have recently been accompanied by another call: that anyone who challenges the virtues of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) should shut themselves in their garage alongside their idling internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle for an hour, to see whether they emerge to tell the tale.

Friday 18 September 2015 saw Dieselgate break.  This was the culmination of a growing dissonance between real-world nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and official values for cars and vans.  The rupture was created by governments picking a technology, for the purposes of decarbonisation, where too much was taken on trust within a fragile governance system.

 The AIR Alliance (Allow Independent Road-testing), the independent alliance set up to improve air quality by promoting independent, on-road vehicle emissions testing, welcomes the publication of the CEN workshop agreement CWA 17934, the real drive test method for collecting vehicle interior air quality data.

The term ‘environmental justice’ can often be used in a mushy, socialistic sense, but behind it is a deadly serious concept.  Put broadly, it means that all parts of society should be treated equally under environmental law, or that everyone has the right to the same protection from pollution and other harm from emissions.

When an exploding star led to the observation of supernova SN 2003fg in 2003, it was nicknamed the ‘Champagne Supernova’ due to its unusual brightness, and its inexplicably great mass.  Many supernovae eventually succumb to their own weight, leaving behind a black hole.  Are we at this stage with battery electric vehicles (BEVs)?  

Last night (March 21, 2023), Emissions Analytics were announced as the winners of Tire Technology International Award for Innovation and Excellence.

Our CEO & Founder, Nick Molden recently spoke at the Automotive Tire Technology 2023.

Emissions Analytics performed a comparison test between a Tesla Model Y and a Kia Niro full hybrid electric vehicle (FHEV), on itsreal-world EQUA test cycle conducted in the UK in March 2023.

Battery electric vehicles are great.  There – we said it.  In fact, we have been saying it all along.  But are they so great that all competition should be banned?

Our CEO & Founder, Nick Molden recently spoke at the Automotive Tire Technology 2023.

Emissions testing is usually preoccupied by testing for known, worrisome chemicals in the environment. Often they are in small amounts or concentrated at hotspots.  Sophisticated equipment is deployed to find and measure them.  We obsess with ever-tighter regulation of these pollutants we know about, even well beyond the point of diminishing environmental returns.

Reusing, recycling, repairing and sharing are defining hallmarks of a circular economy idea that is being promoted worldwide, but especially in Europe. 

Euro 7 has finally arrived - As the saying goes, a ‘good’ landing is one from which you can walk away, but a ‘great’ landing is one after which they can use the plane again. Euro 7 has not just landed safely, but the craft that is the European system of emissions regulation remains viable. It required a deft touch. The industry says it is too tough and environmental campaigners say it is too weak in equal measure, which perhaps reflects the achievement.

We know, from earlier research, that tyres emit lots of particles, both coarser and the more potentially dangerous ultrafines. To put this in context, the levels are less than from exhausts of many older diesel vehicles without filters, but orders of magnitude greater than from the exhausts of modern internal combustion engine vehicles with the latest filters. But, where do these particles go, and can they be found in the environment?

Emissions Analytics featured in Tire Technology International