Air1 opens World's largest AdBlue plant amid growing demand

AdBlue plant opening ceremony. Left to right Marc van Hijfte, Aad Bravenboer and Rolf Isberg

(2006-02-01) Air1® partners and customers celebrated with Yara the opening of the worlds largest AdBlue® plant at Sluiskil in the Netherlands on January 31st. More than 70 guests were invited to witness the filling of the first truck with Air1® before they toured the Sluiskil site.

The plant has an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes of Air1^®, confirming Yara’s position as the number one producer of the high quality AdBlue^®  used to reduce NOx emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in Europe. This liquid urea solution feeds an SCR catalyst on-board trucks and buses; meeting the more stringent European Union restrictions on exhaust gas emissions that come into effect in October 2006. From that date onwards, truck manufacturers will only be allowed to market vehicles that comply with the new Euro IV and V emission standards. By 2012, AdBlue consumption in the Western European market is estimated to reach 3.5 million tonnes per year.

The event started off with a reception at the "Scheldetheater" in the city of Terneuzen, overlooking the locks of the Ghendt-Terneuzen canal, where many Yara Sluiskil products begin their journey to European destinations. In addition to representatives from our distributor Brenntag and European customers, the reception was well attended by the media.

Yara’s Air1 concept – the AdBlue product plus associated services, and guaranteed quality and reliability of supply – offers a range of environmental and economic benefits. NOx emissions are reduced and diesel consumption is cut by up to 6%. Toll charges for vehicles equipped with SCR technology will also be lower. AdBlue is estimated to be roughly half the gross price of diesel per litre.

An Air1 Q&A session raised the issue of cowboy producers, as small quantities of impurities can destroy the expensive SCR catalyst. A panel of Yara and Brenntag representatives replied that Air1 customers can be assured that Yara is behind its product’s guarantee of quality.

Several European transport companies have already converted to AdBlue technology, while many more are considering the change. The Belgian public transport company De Lijn, which is the largest in Flanders with a fleet of 2,000 buses, is currently testing Air1 on a number of its vehicles.

The party of guests included Daimler Chrysler’s Johannes W. Ebner, from the company’s Fuel Cell Project. Daimler Chrysler is the main supplier of new trucks equipped with the SCR technology. Dr Ebner thanked Yara for the cooperation between the two companies over the development of AdBlue and SCR technology in general. Volvo and Iveco have already chosen Air1® as their preferred supplier for AdBlue.

After lunch the party arrived at the Sluiskil site where the pop of (alcohol free) champagne corks and the scattering of confetti over the new installation marked the opening ceremony performed by Rolf E Isberg, Marc van Hijfte and Aad Bravenboer.

 AdBlue® is a registered trademark of VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie)