Barcelona

Placa,De,Ispania,(the,National,Museum),In,Barcelona,,Spain,In

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Main Challenges

Finding a third test site in Italy was a major challenge, which was solved by shifting tests to the Spanish city of Barcelona.

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Measurement Sites

Since Barcelona is home to the largest L-vehicle fleets in Spain or possibly even Europe, while providing wide streets throughout the city, the selection of measurement sites did not pose any challenge

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Tested Vehicles

Due to the abundance of L-vehicles in Barcelona all sizes and classes are tested.

Challenge

The main challenge has been to plan and prepare for the Barcelona measurement campaign with less than six months of preparation time, due to the required shift away from the expected pilot cities of Italy.

Thus, LENS faced a short window for its on-street measurement, which takes place in mid-October 2024. The selection of this timeframe is critical to guarantee a thorough evaluation of the gathered data until the end of the project in August 2025. Site selection and coordination with the local authorities is large supported thanks to the LENS subcontractor for roadside pollutant emission measurements Opus RSE and their strong ties to the city of Barcelona.

Logistics and budget challenges to carry out measurements so far from the locations (Gothenburg, Graz and Leuven) of the LENS partners mainly involved in these measurements.

Measurement campaign

Measurement sites & tested vehicles

The large urban street of Via Augusta, which based on earlier pollutant emission measurements, is the perfect location for tests, as the road has the highest share of L-vehicles in Barcelona. Alternative options exist with Travessera de Dalt site 1 and site 2 and GranVia de les Corts Catalanes. The measurement campaign is carried out from 18-22 October 2024.

Cooperation with local administration

Mainly thanks to the LENS subcontractor for roadside pollutant emission measurements Opus RSE, having their office in Madrid and with good contacts with the city of Barcelona from carrying out measurements earlier there, a very good cooperation has been established with the city and the local police (Guarda Urbana) for the LENS measurement campaign.

Stakeholder Engagement

Similar to the stakeholder events in Leuven and Paris, Barcelona is also hosting an exchange with national and international experts with the opportunity to learn more about the measurement campaign in Barcelona. Furthermore, specific local challenges of the Catalan capital and their plans to reduce emissions of cars and L-vehicles through the LENS and the CRETA project will be discussed.

Results

First result

LENS builds up on the City Air Remote Emissions Sensing (CARES) Horizon 2020 project. LENS has opted for using enhanced remote sensing detection (RSD) that can reliably check a great number of vehicles in a relatively short time. Various remote emission sensing concepts have been further developed, validated, and demonstrated. Remote sensing measurements were conducted in 2021 and 2022 in Milan (IT) and Prague (CZ).