Answer given by Mr Breton on behalf of the European Commission
27.5.2024
The Euro 6 regulatory framework[1] does not stipulate the use of a urea solution (AdBlue or others) to control emissions, but it does set requirements for emission control systems that use a reagent.
For Euro 6 vehicles using a reagent to control emissions, manufacturers must ensure that the emission control system retains its emission control function during all ambient conditions, especially at low ambient temperatures.
This includes taking measures to prevent the complete freezing of the reagent during parking times of up to seven days at minus 15 °C with the reagent tank fifty per cent full. If the reagent has frozen, the manufacturer must ensure that the reagent is available for use within 20 minutes of the vehicle starting at minus 15 °C.
Euro 6 requirements for vehicles that use a reagent for the exhaust after-treatment system mirror those of United Nations Regulation No 154[2].
Commercial AdBlue is already engineered to have the lowest possible freezing point. Nonetheless, existing EU emission regulations would allow for improved reagents with lower freezing points to be placed on the market. No standardisation work on reagents is currently foreseen by the Commission.
The Commission is not aware of low-temperature conditions leading to the need to repair after-treatment systems in Euro 6 vehicles and would be interested in more information on the Finnish study with regard to this topic.