Annex 4 analytical methods

COPERT applies EEA’s EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook version 2023 (updated in 2024), and more specifically chapter 1.A.3.b.i-iv Road transport 2024. The model structure is split in three parts; input, emission factor calculation and results.

COPERT includes 530 vehicle categories (205 cars, 72 vans, 137 trucks, 70 buses, 46 l-category vehicles) divided per load capacity (trucks & buses) of engine capacity (other vehicles), Euro emission standard, fuel type:

• Passenger Cars:
  • Fuels: Petrol, Petrol Hybrid, Petrol PHEV, Diesel, Diesel PHEV, LPG Bifuel, CNG Bifuel, Battery electric
  • Segments: Mini, Small, Medium, Large-SUV-Executive, 2-Stroke
  • Euro standards: from Conventional to Euro 7
• Light Commercial Vehicles:
  • Fuels: Petrol, Diesel, Battery electric
  • Segments: N1-I, N1-II, N1-III
  • Euro standards: from Conventional to Euro 7
• Heavy Duty Trucks:
  • Fuels: Petrol, Diesel, CNG, LNG
  • Segments: Rigid, Articulated
  • Euro standards: from Conventional to Euro VII
• Buses:
  • Fuels: Diesel, Diesel Hybrid, Battery electric, CNG, Biodiesel
  • Segments: Urban Buses (Midi, Standard, Articulated), Coaches (Standard, Articulated)
  • Euro standards: from Conventional to Euro VII
• L-Category:
  • Fuels: Petrol, Diesel
  • Segments: Mopeds 2-stroke, Mopeds 4-stroke, Motorcycles 2-stroke, Motorcycles 4-stroke, Quad & ATVs, Micro-car
  • Euro standards: from Conventional to Euro 5

Inputs for each of them can be divided into required and desired:

• Required inputs:
  • Population (stock)
  • Mileage (mean activity)
  • Lifetime cumulative activity
  • Average speed in urban/rural/highway streets
  • Share of km run in urban/rural/highway streets
• Desired inputs:

• Load factor and road slope for trucks and buses
• Size of tank and canister (for the evaporative part of the emissions only)
• Percentage of evaporation in urban/rural/highway streets (for the evaporative part of the emissions only)
• Environmental conditions (minimum and maximum monthly average temperature (for the cold part of the emissions only), humidity (for the impact of the A/C use), Reid vapor pressure)
• Fuel type characteristics (content of metals in the fuel, ratio of hydrogen to carbon and oxygen to carbon, heavy metal content, density, fuel energy content, biofuel content)
• Trip characteristics (length, duration)
• A/C options (A/C usage, vehicles with A/C, A/C effect)
• Energy balance (total fuel sales)
• CO2 parameters (CO2 reduction, SCR CO2 emissions)
• Utility factor (for PHEV vehicles)

Parametrizations: The model contains a dataset of emission factors (grams of pollutants per kilometer and energy consumption per kilometer) derived from measurements for urban/rural/highway operations. Depending on the input vehicle speed, the model calculates the appropriate emission or energy consumption factor. Using the vehicle population, mileage and share of kilometers driven in each road type, the model calculates the total emissions and energy consumption. If more detailed information is available, the user can provide his own emission factors to be used for the calculation of emissions.

The model also contains parametrization for simulating additional CO2 emissions due to:

• using the air condition
• lube oil consumption using different SCR rates (an abatement technology for NOx)

or improve emission calculation for NOx, CO and VOC by taking into account the vehicle age.

CO2 emission calculation can be further improved by providing information on real-world CO2 data for passenger cars.

If statistics on the energy/fuel consumption (sales) are provided as input to the model, the emissions are rescaled and adjusted to reach consistency.

The output results include calculated emissions for several pollutants that can be divided into the following four groups:

• Group 1: pollutants for which a detailed methodology exists, based on specific emission factors and covering different traffic situations (i.e. urban, rural, highway) and engine conditions (CO, NOx, NO, NO2, VOC, CH4, NMVOC, N2O, NH3, PM, SPN23)
• Group 2: these emissions are estimated based on fuel consumption, and the results are of the same quality as those for the pollutants in Group 1 (CO2, SO2, Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Se, Zn)
• Group 3: pollutants for which a simplified methodology is applied, mainly due to the absence of detailed data (PAHs, POPs, PCDDs, PCDs, PCBs, HCB)
• Group 4: pollutants which are derived as a fraction of total NMVOC emissions (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aldehydes, ketones, cycloalkanes, aromatic compounds)

for each vehicle category in each road type (urban, rural, highway).

COPERT, through its links to TREMOVE and DIONE, has been used in impact assessment studies of the European Commission to evaluate the impact of proposed technological and legislative measures to road transport. Examples include measures to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars, the introduction of EURO VI standards for heavy duty vehicles, the introduction of EURO 7 standards for all vehicles (except motorcycles), the effects of the internalization of external costs, and others.

COPERT is most suitable to support the policy cycle. It has been used, amongst others in: Clean Air For Europe (CAFE), National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD), Contributions to the National and EU submissions of Emission Inventories for CLRTAP (Convention for Long Range Transport of Air Pollutants) and UNFCC.

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