DETROIT -- Detroit Diesel has announced that it has surpassed seven million miles of testing on its BlueTec selective catalytic reduction technology that will be used in 2010 engines.

Daimler's BlueTec selective catalytic reduction was selected by Detroit Diesel in 2005 to meet the upcoming stringent U.S. emissions standards for heavy-duty buses and trucks.

"We started our engineering development and validation activities several years ago to optimize BlueTec SCR for the 2010 North American market," said David Siler, director of marketing for Detroit Diesel.

"We are excited about how successful we've been in our validation program and we feel our customers will benefit from this positive experience."

BlueTec selective catalytic reduction will be used on Detroit Diesel's recently introduced DD15 and DD13 engines, and will incorporate the ACRS common rail fuel system, a diesel particulate filter already in use today, as well as a new selective catalytic reduction NOx after-treatment system that utilizes diesel exhaust fluid, commonly known as urea.

The DD13 will be the standard engine in 2010-model Setra motorcoaches.

Detroit Diesel said its extensive validation testing isn't complete. Its reliability test vehicle fleet is being expanded and will continue to log millions of miles prior to production launch in January 2010.

Detroit Diesel also has conducted several rounds of vehicle validation testing under extreme operating and environmental conditions that may be experienced by the end-user, such as below-zero winter conditions in northern climates, as well as temperatures above 120 degrees in the desert regions of Arizona, Nevada and California.

Since adopting the technology in early 2005, Daimler has delivered more than 200,000 buses and trucks around the world utilizing BlueTec selective catalytic reduction. Daimler's BlueTec system is modular and adaptable and also will be used in RVs, as well as hybrids and biodiesel-powered buses and trucks.