Cat gains certification

Cat gains certification 395 Caterpillar claims to be the first manufacturer to receive EU Stage IIIB emissions regulation approval for a non-road engine in the 130 to 150kW category. The company has said that its C9.3 ACERT engine has gained the necessary certification under both the EU regulations and the US-based EPA Tier 4 regulations.

Interim Tier 4/Stage IIIB emissions regulations come into force on 1 January 2011 for 130 to 560kW engines and require a 90% reduction in diesel particulate matter (PM) and a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) from previous Tier 3 and Stage IIIA requirements.

According to Cat, ACERT is an advanced combustion technology that uses a building-block approach for reducing emissions that is based the integration of key systems technologies. The C9.3 ACERT engine family will power a number of Cat products including mid-range dozers, motor graders and hydraulic excavators. The C9.3 ACERT engine is being offered in several configurations and ratings for use by customers in the industrial, agriculture, and petroleum markets.

The company has said that by the time Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB products reach customers, the validation programme will have accumulated nearly one million hours of operation making it the most extensive validation effort in Cat history.