The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be helping China retrofit 30 buses in Beijing with clean diesel technology under a collaboration between the EPA, China´s State Environmental Protection Agency and industry partners.

The effort, launched Nov. 10, stems from an agreement reached last year between the EPA and China´s SEPA to collaborate on clean fuels and vehicles projects. The EPA is committed to providing technical expertise and more than $200,000 toward diesel retrofit demonstrations.

The Southwest Research Institute, a nonprofit group based in Texas that specializes in technology transfer, is contributing matching funds and will manage the retrofit project.

At least two technologies will be deployed. One will reduce particulate emissions by as much as 30 percent. The other technology, when combined with low-sulfur fuel, is expected to reduce particulate emissions by more than 90 percent.