The diesel market in Europe could be set to see major benefits from a new scheme to reduce emissions.

An EU project that will see new pollution sensors to help member states regulate its emissions more effectively is also likely to boost the use of diesel to power vehicles, as more manufacturers turn to the fuel as a cleaner alternative to petrol.

The IMITEC programme, which has been funded by Information Society Technologies (IST), has managed to develop the technologies that can be used to provide closer control of the emissions released by vehicles.

"I think when we started the project it was considered highly ambitious, but we have met out targets and we now have several technologies that will be commercialised," explained Dr Athanasios G. Konstandopoulos, project coordinator and director of the Aerosol and Particle Technology Laboratory in Greece.

Dr Konstandopoulos added that diesel is currently the most efficient combustion engine and one of IMITEC's major breakthroughs was the creation of the first particulate sensors to be used in next generation diesel exhaust emission control systems.

Diesel is already becoming increasingly popular in the European car markets, with recent figures showing that sales of diesel-powered vehicles account for over half of a state's car fleet in a number of countries, including France.


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