Leeds awarded £150,000 grant to tackle polluting refrigeration units
The council applied for the £150,000 Air Quality Grant with help from clean cold technology firm Dearman, which is pursuing advanced trials of its zero-emission refrigeration unit that run on liquid nitrogen. Dearman is also making an in-kind contribution for the vehicle demonstrations aspect of the project.
Transport refrigeration units (TRUs) are typically used by supermarkets and logistics operators to keep food produce cold while in transit. The cold is often powered by a second diesel engine and there are estimated to be 84,000 TRUs on Britain’s roads.
Replacing Leeds’s diesel-powered TRUs with zero-emission alternatives would be the NOx equivalent of removing 2,446 Euro6 heavy goods vehicles or 66,790 Euro6 diesel cars from Britain’s roads, and the PM equivalent of removing 13,024 HGVs or 142,262 cars.
The draft DEFRA Clean Air Zone Framework published in October 2016 is the first time diesel powered TRUs have been officially recognised in the UK as a substantial polluter.
Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council executive board member with responsibility for environment and sustainability said:
“We are extremely pleased that we have been awarded this grant from Defra to tackle high polluting refrigeration units in the city. As a council we are committed to improving air quality across the city, ensuring we utilise a range of options available to us.
“Reducing pollution from refrigeration units in the city could see a significant improvement to our air quality and we are looking forward to working with Dearman to develop innovative and new technology solutions to assist with this.
“This project could lead to significant improvements, not just on Leeds roads, but those around the country.”
For more information:
Mo Saqib
Dearman Engine Company
Tel: +44 0 203 829 0035
mo.saqib@dearman.co.uk