Yara North America Inc has opened a new diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) storage terminal in Chesapeake VA. The fully operational storage facility will provide fleets and retail outlets throughout the Mid-Atlantic region increased access to Air1 DEF, an operating fluid used by diesel-powered vehicles equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to meet EPA 2010 emissions regulations.
The new facility is the company's latest investment to expand its global production and distribution capabilities in order to meet continued market demand. DEF consumption in North America by Class 4-8 vehicles is expected to reach 204 million gallons by the end of the year. Integer Research, the leading DEF market analyst, predicts this will double to 402 million gallons by 2015.
"Yara continues to make large, scalable investments in our global supply chain network to answer the growth of the US market," says Chad Dombroski, director of Air1 for Yara. "This terminal opening reflects Yara's ongoing commitment that our customers will have Air1 DEF where and when they need it."
The new Chesapeake terminal will join the coast-to-coast network of storage terminals Yara operates throughout North America in order to supply what many predict will become the largest DEF market in the world in the coming years. By 2019, Integer Research estimates DEF consumption in North America will reach 1.2 billion tons per year.