Mack Trucks announced at the Mid-America Trucking Show that it has conducted extensive field testing of its EPA2010-compliant engines and is ready for roll-out.

Mack’s engines will use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in 2010, which is performing well with test fleets, according to the company. Mack officials showed videos of customer testimonials during a press luncheon at the show.

“Mack is ready for 2010 and we have complete confidence in our SCR technology and its ability to deliver increased fuel economy and lower operational costs for our customers, especially when compared with other approaches to 2010,” said Denny Slagle, Mack president and CEO. “Ultimately, the performance and efficiency debate on technology will be decided on the road. This is where Mack will shine.”

Slagle added “We’re well ahead of where we were in 2007.”

David McKenna, director of powertrain sales and marketing with Mack, said real-world field testing has shown Mack’s 2010 engines virtually eliminate the need for active regenerations of the diesel particulate filter (DPF).

“Since we use SCR to remove NOx from the exhaust downstream from the DPF, we are able to tune the engine to produce better performance and fuel economy, while using the NOx in the exhaust to passively regenerate the DPF,” he explained. “We’re making simple chemistry work in our favour.”

McKenna insisted SCR will deliver a lower cost of ownership when compared to an in-cylinder solution he terms “massive EGR.” He showed spreadsheets that indicated a Class 8 truck with SCR will typically cost nearly $1,100 less to operate versus a comparable truck using only EGR. That’s based on diesel prices of $2.33/gallon and DEF priced at $1.75/gallon, running 100,000 miles and averaging 6 mpg. When bumping diesel prices to $3/gallon and DEF prices to $2.25, the savings totals more than US$1,300 per 100,000 miles, according to McKenna.

While Mack Trucks didn’t provide a purchase price for 2010 trucks and engines, Slagle did say it will likely be “in the same ballpark” as Volvo’s recently-announced emissions surcharge of US$9,600.