HEAVY-DUTY LUBRICANTS
Euro 7: What it means for heavy-duty lubricants
Thomas Gillet, Heavy Duty OEM and Industry Liaison Europe Africa Middle East, Chevron Oronite
In April 2024, after much back-and-forth negotiation between regulators and automotive OEMs, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU approved new emission standards for light and heavy-duty vehicles under the banner of Euro 7. It is the first set of regulations that addresses passenger cars, heavy-duty trucks and transport vehicles under one umbrella.
The final agreement was not as stringent as expected based on the original proposal. Nonetheless, it will require OEMs to continue investing in internal combustion engines, while simultaneously working toward the transition to electrification and alternative fuels such as hydrogen. Heavy-duty truck manufacturers in particular will need to make significant adjustments to engine design and technology, some of which will have implications for heavy-duty lubricants.
The key laboratory tests for heavy-duty engine oils, the World Harmonised Stationary Cycle (WHSC) and World Harmonised Transient Cycle (WHTC), remain unchanged from Euro IV testing protocols. However, oils must meet stricter limits under these tests. The specific differences between Euro 7 and Euro VI include the following...
Steeper NOx and particulate matter reductions Euro 7 calls for a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide or NOx emissions compared to Euro VI limits, from 400 to 200 mg/kWh, under WHSC testing. In WHTC
testing, the required reduction is slightly steeper, from 460 to 200 mg/kWh or 56%. Particulate matter or PM emissions must also be reduced by 20%, from 10 to 8 mg/kWh under both WHSC and WHTC testing. Particulate number limits remain the same from Euro VI to Euro 7, however the detection size has been reduced from 23nm to 10nm.
Euro 7 also addresses limits for other types of chemicals emitted from the tailpipe, such as ammonia and methane.
More rigorous on-road testing requirements While the WHTC and WHSC tests are intended to replicate real-world engine performance, Euro 7 also calls for more intensive on-road testing using tailpipe devices to capture actual NOx emission levels. In on-road testing, NOx emission limits drop from 690 to 260 mg/kWh, or 62% compared to Euro VI.
Longer lifetime compliance requirements Heavy-duty trucks will be required to remain compliant with Euro 7 emission standards for a longer period of time – 12 years versus seven years under Euro VI, or 700,000 kilometers. That is just for the vehicle’s “main lifetime.” Euro 7 also introduces requirements for “additional lifetime” that apply when a vehicle built in Western Europe is sold on the secondary market elsewhere in the world. This requirement calls for a truck to remain in compliance 15 years total or 875,000 kilometers, whichever is reached last.
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.189 OCTOBER 2025 13
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