The Ricardo Vehicle Emissions Research Centre (VERC) and associated facilities at the Shoreham Technical Centre have been accredited by the Vehicle Certification Agency to carry out type approval testing to the new Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) – a UK first.
The VERC was opened in 2015 and is one of the world’s most advanced vehicle test facilities. With the upgrade of associated test equipment and the certification announced today, Ricardo is ideally placed to assist automotive manufacturers in achieving compliance with the WLTP, including the requirements for Real Driving Emissions (RDE) testing. The first WTLP customer certification programme is already well underway, with over 30 officially witnessed tests for 2WD and 4WD applications completed in May 2017.
“The entire testing team at Ricardo is very proud of the achievement of this certification,” commented Ricardo director of test operations Richard Murphy. “Being the first and only UK facility to achieve this accreditation to date is a mark of our commitment to helping our customers develop the cleaner, more efficient and lower CO2 vehicles of the future.”
As an independent engineering consultancy in its own right, Ricardo is uniquely positioned to be able to develop its testing capability according to the emerging requirements its global client base. Within the VERC and associated facilities, the company offers measurement and analysis services covering the full range of regulated pollutants, as well as those such as ammonia, NO2, N2O, methane and aldehyde, which are likely to be subject to future regulation.
For highway-based vehicle testing, Ricardo has invested in extensive portable emissions monitoring system (PEMS) based test capabilities and has developed a selection of RDE test routes close to its Shoreham Technical Centre, helping the company to become the pre-eminent independent provider of RDE related test services in the UK.
“While our commitment to excellence in testing is underscored both with this UK-first in achieving WLTP certification and the expansion of our RDE testing services, Ricardo can provide much more than this,” continues Murphy. “With the synergies that we can also offer through integration with our comprehensive vehicle and powertrain engineering, development and calibration expertise – and access to our climatic and altitude simulation test facilities – Ricardo offers a truly world-class, clean and low carbon vehicle capability that is the benchmark against which others are measured.”
