LONG BEACH, Calif. — Hino Motors is the latest truck OEM to commit to selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to meet the stringent 2010 emissions regulations.

"The EPA 2010 emissions regulation calls for more than an 80 percent reduction in NOx over the 2007 emissions regulation, and the most environmentally friendly, reliable solution to meet this challenge is SCR," explained Glenn Ellis, vice president, marketing and dealer operations for Hino Trucks.

SCR has been used in Europe for the past three years with an estimated 600,000 plus vehicles running with this technology. In addition to Hino, OEMs such as Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Volvo, and others will use SCR technology to meet the 2010 emissions regulations.

Navistar International is the only major truck OEM that is not. It will go with an advanced version of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) instead.

"SCR is an exhaust after-treatment technology that reduces NOx significantly from the exhaust by injecting a precise amount of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) downstream of the engine," explained George Daniels, vice president, service operations for Hino. "It allows the engine to operate at max fuel economy and performance level without the additional engine stress needed to control NOx with EGR alone."

The infrastructure to efficiently distribute DEF in the U.S. is rapidly being established. The urea-based fluid will be available through all 180 Hino dealers.

In addition, a coalition of industries, including truck manufacturers, truckstops, retail fueling stations, fuel distributors and DEF producers, are working to establish bulk DEF filling stations at truckstops and diesel service stations across North America.

Therefore, "DEF will be readily available for our customers" said Nick Vermet, senior vice president, sales and customer support for Hino. "Because most medium-duty trucks come back to a single domicile every night, we do not see the availability or the maintaining of the appropriate level of DEF in the trucks to be an issue."