EDAR’s History: A Brief Overview
Like many world-changing technologies, such as Apple, Google, or Amazon, EDAR had humble beginnings in the garage of a scientist with a groundbreaking concept.
From their first patent in 2010 to the completion of the four-gas system (North American EDAR) in 2013, Dr. J. Stewart Hager and Yolla Hager worked hard to develop EDAR and establish Hager Environmental and Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT).
HEAT premiered EDAR to the emissions industry in 2014 at the I/M Solutions conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and EDAR quickly garnered attention. Soon after launching, HEAT embarked on several studies with EDAR, working with the EPA, the California Air Resource Board (CARB), and others, demonstrating EDAR’s functionality and accuracy.
Of course, EDAR was created not only for research purposes but also to provide cities with practical, cost-effective emissions testing services. In October 2014, HEAT deployed its first emissions testing survey, utilizing EDAR for a contract with Connecticut. This biannual emissions survey contract has been HEAT’s ever since. Next came Arizona, with HEAT winning an annual emissions survey contract in 2015 and continuing to hold it to this day.
EDAR’s success in the United States has not slowed: HEAT has added Pennsylvania and Nevada to their routine emissions testing contracts, participated in a variety of additional studies with partners including the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the Coordinating Research Council (CRC), been awarded an Express Screen (Clean Screen) program in Nashville, and been recognized as a NASA Spinoff Technology in NASA’s 2017 Spinoff publication.
But HEAT did not stop with the United States. In the fall of 2015, HEAT took another exciting step: EDAR was introduced to the European market at the Air Quality Conference in Birmingham, UK.
Shortly thereafter, HEAT conducted its first European deployment in early 2016, installing EDAR in London and Birmingham. EDAR made a great impression, and the United Kingdom wanted to see more. In May 2016, Yolla Hager presented to the UK Parliament and in December 2016, Dr. J, Stewart Hager presented to the prestigious Royal Society in London. The interest in EDAR spread, and in September 2017, HEAT presented to the European Parliament in Brussels.
EDAR continues to travel around Europe, deploying in new countries each year and showcasing its state-of-the-art capabilities and adaptability.
In February 2017, EDAR was deployed in Scotland. While the weather conditions were not ideal, EDAR proved that it could accurately measure through the wind, fog, and light rain. During the Scotland deployment, EDAR also collected data from heavy-duty vehicles without any equipment or footprint changes, thus proving that EDAR is an all-in-one solution for emissions testing, even in the most adverse conditions.
Not only does EDAR collect accurate data from all vehicle types, but it does so very efficiently. In 2018, HEAT deployed EDAR in Paris for a pilot program with the ICCT and TRUE Initiative. EDAR collected over 200,000 valid records in three weeks!
Then, going above and beyond the expectations of remote sensing technologies, HEAT made its unprecedented mark by deploying EDAR on a bridge over the E-40, a high speed highway, in Belgium during the summer of 2019. EDAR continued to excel, experiencing no trouble measuring at higher speeds.
During this Belgium deployment, EDAR proved yet another accomplishment: it can do more than merely detect emissions from passing vehicles. HEAT utilized EDAR in an anti-tampering campaign in the Flanders region, increasing the Flemish Government’s success rate identifying tampered trucks from 9% to over 86%.
In 2019, the need for a European HEAT headquarters to handle EDAR’s rapid success in Europe became apparent, and HEAT EU was established in Dublin, setting HEAT up to deploy even more frequently in Europe.
HEAT's 2020 began in a hurry with deployments in Scotland and Frankfurt, Germany. The year was off to a great start until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic halted deployments temporarily. However, this pandemic has presented an opportunity to prove how the EDAR could play a part in keeping people safe during these unprecedented times. HEAT is currently talking with several states about installing EDAR as a contact-free emissions testing solution to help states monitor emissions while still protecting their vulnerable populations.
For more detailed information on EDAR's deployments, presentations and deployment reports, please visit our Portfolio page!