An Opel Astra 1.6 CDTI on Empa’s dynamometer test rig: the tubes connect the exhaust tract to a mobile PEMS device (portable emission measuring system) inside the car. Thus equipped it then heads off around Lake Greifensee.
As of October 2017, newly launched car models will have to pass more stringent exhaust gas tests in the EU and in Switzerland. The new test method includes measuring drives in actual traf-fic. Empa already tested currently available cars with the new method - with alarming results. By now, it's no secret: the certification requirements for cars in the EU and in Switzerland have precious little to do with the cars' actual exhaust emissions on the roads. The 'real' exhaust emissions are, therefore, determined in separate studies, including at Empa. Air pollution control experts from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) draw upon this kind of data if they want to estimate road traffic emissions. On behalf of the Swiss government, Empa measures about a dozen vehicles a year, which are supplied by randomly selected individuals for a small fee.
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