How We Do It: 

On most days, the air seems to vibrate at a higher frequency in the labs of West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions. But a little more than a year ago, a handful of the center’s engineers became players in a story that sent shockwaves through the global automotive industry. In 2014, CAFEE contracted with a non-governmental organization to study emissions levels from diesel vehicles in the United States. WVU’s researchers found that two of the three vehicles they tested – both Volkswagens – were emitting up to 35 times the oxides of nitrogen permitted by regulators. Investigations by the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. EPA revealed that the automaker used a “defeat device” to cheat on emissions tests. CAFEE is focused on the road ahead and continues to work at a feverish pace to secure sponsorships, grants and research funding to sustain the work of the center. CAFEE is adding to its capabilities, bringing two new laboratory facilities online in the next few months. Additionally, they are looking at what the future will hold for emissions technology, the research behind it and the testing necessary to ensure that it is successful. With increasingly stringent rules for both gasoline and diesel vehicles in the passenger-car and heavy-duty engine markets, manufacturers will have to innovate. As our panelists will discuss, that’s where CAFEE comes in.