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 was 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 in Italy.

As a result, LENS faced a short window for its on-street measurements, which took place in mid-October 2024. The selection of this timeframe was 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 were largely 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 also arose from carrying 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, was the perfect location for tests, as the road had the highest share of L-vehicles in Barcelona. Alternative options existed with Travessera de Dalt site 1 and site 2 and GranVia de les Corts Catalanes. The measurement campaign was carried out from 18-22 October 2024.

Cooperation with local administration

Mainly thanks to the LENS subcontractor for roadside pollutant emission measurements Opus RSE, which has its office in Madrid and strong contacts with the city of Barcelona from earlier measurement campaigns, very good cooperation was established with the city and the local police (Guàrdia Urbana) for the LENS measurement campaign.

Stakeholder Engagement

Similar to the stakeholder events in Leuven and Paris, Barcelona also hosted 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 plans to reduce emissions from cars and L-vehicles through the LENS and the CRETA project were discussed.

Results

First result

LENS built on the City Air Remote Emissions Sensing (CARES) Horizon 2020 project. LENS opted to use enhanced remote sensing detection (RSD) that could reliably check a large number of vehicles in a relatively short time. Various remote emission sensing concepts were further developed, validated, and demonstrated. Remote sensing measurements were conducted in 2021 and 2022 in Milan (IT) and Prague (CZ).