Stage-5 Compliant MTU Engines Planned Mid-2018

Rolls-Royce announced it will present its range of MTU agricultural engines meeting EU Stage 5 emissions regulations at the Agritechnica agricultural equipment trade show in Hanover, Germany, from 12 to 18 November 2017.

Six-cylinder inline engines Series 1500 and 1300, and the four-cylinder version of Series 1000 engine will be exhibited at the show along with MTU’s exhaust gas aftertreatment system. MTU engines certified for Stage 5 will be available a full six months before the emissions directive comes onto the statute books, Rolls-Royce said.

Series 1000 to 1500 engines are based on Daimler commercial vehicle engines and have been upgraded for EU Stage 5 jointly by MTU and Daimler; they will be available for delivery to customers as early as June 2018. At the same time, customers will continue to be able to source the EU Stage 4 engines.

“MTU has been putting the engines through their paces in close collaboration with various vehicle manufacturers across a variety of applications since 2015, trialing a total of over 150 engine systems on the ground,” said Bernd Krüper, vice president, Industrial Business, at MTU. “We’ve already incorporated a lot of customer ideas into our development program, ensuring everyone involved gets the benefit of these extensive early field trials.”

For agriculture and forestry applications, MTU engines will be available for an array of vehicles, including combine-harvesters, corn choppers, large tractors, beet harvesters, self-propelled crop sprayers, wood chippers and timber harvesters.

The new MTU engines meet the new emission limits in Europe by means of internal engine enhancements as well as an SCR system and an extra diesel particulate filter. The company’s one-box SCR solution for exhaust gas aftertreatment is a compact and robust system, easy to use, install and clean, MTU said.

The improved design of the Stage-5-compliant engines brought the power output of the Series 1000 engine to 375 hp (280 kW) (up 7% compared to Stage 4 models), while torque has been boosted from 1032 to 1143 lb.ft. (1400 to 1550 nM). The MTU six-cylinder inline engine Series 1000 also boasts 3% less fuel consumption. The consumption of the SCR’s reducing agent (an aqueous urea solution) is contained to 5%.

The power outputs of the MTU Series 1100 and 1500 engines have also been boosted by 26 hp (20 kW) across the board, meaning they now cover a power range of 321 to 643 hp (240 to 480 kW) and deliver up to 2286 lb.ft. (3100 Nm) of torque. The further developed engines will also receive EPA Tier 4 certification.

At the Agritechnica show MTU will also present an Emission Flex Package enabling customers to operate engines in countries with differing emissions requirements and where fuels have a higher sulfur content. Specially developed engine software enables engines designed for use in conjunction with exhaust gas aftertreatment systems in markets with stringent emissions regulations to be operated without the sophisticated exhaust gas aftertreatment systems in those countries which do not have such stringent regulations. These engines are then no longer permitted to be deployed in countries with strict regulations, and corresponding processes (including removal of emissions labels) are conducted to ensure this.

“Before doing so, and before selling this solution to our customers (OEMs), an agreement has to be signed saying that the adaptations made to the engines are in keeping with emissions directives that apply in the relevant countries,” said Krüper.

The Emission Flex Package is offered as a retrofit solution for Series 900, 460 and 500 engines, which are based on Mercedes-Benz classic engines, meeting EU Stage 3b and Tier 4 interim requirements. It is also available

for new engines meeting EU Stage 4 and Tier 4 requirements.