Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies Worldwide Leadership, Global Expertise. Shanghai (Minbei) R&D center (China) / Press Kit, April 12, 2011

Transcription

1 Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies Worldwide Leadership, Global Expertise Shanghai (Minbei) R&D center (China) / Press Kit, April 12, 2011 Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies: an introduction New environmental standards, new engine types, new materials. The exhaust line is a complex system concentrating all key challenges which the auto industry is facing: reduction of environmental impact of vehicles, engine performance and durability, occupant comfort.. It s also a future-oriented business, in constant evolution to adapt to the evolution of automobiles. Finally, it s a combination of technologies which calls for high added-value innovative solutions. For the Asia market, which is expected to double by 2020, Faurecia has all the assets to face the challenges of today s and tomorrow s automotive industry. With the acquisition of Emcon Technologies in 2009, Faurecia is now the worldwide leader in emissions control technologies. Its renowned expertise has turned Faurecia into the chosen supplier of most major automakers around the world. Pioneer of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) in 2000, Faurecia today continues to develop at best cost various technologies to anticipate future emissions regulations and contribute to the advent of clean vehicles emitting less CO 2 and all major pollutants. Faurecia is also the leader in lightweight technologies enabling improved fuel economy for this market. The inauguration of the R&D-Innovation center in Shanghai is an extension of the Group s historical expertise and its objective to fully contribute to creating tomorrow s clean vehicles for this important market. a) Technology leadership Expertise in the complete value chain desired by automakers N 1 worldwide in emissions control technologies and lightweight systems Per year around the world, Faurecia supplies: o 20 million vehicles with exhaust systems o 10 million exhaust lines o 3 million manifolds o 20 million catalytic converters o 3 million DPF o 20 million mufflers b) Worldwide footprint 16,000 employees work for Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies o of which 1,200 engineers and technicians 69 manufacturing sites in 22 countries 10 R&D centers 4.8 billion Euro sales in 2010 Page 1/6

2 One in every four vehicle in the world carries an emissions control system from Faurecia: the Group has full expertise in complete exhaust lines: from the manifold to the tailpipe. Following the Emcon Technologies integration, Faurecia also entered into the commercial vehicles emissions control market. The know-how of Faurecia is particularly at work of reducing nitrogen oxides, the next challenge for making commercial vehicles emissions cleaner. As well, Faurecia is developing unique solutions in terms of lightweighting and energy recovery to continue reducing CO 2 emissions. Faurecia is equally a leader in each of its regional markets: North America, South America (Brazil, Argentina), Asia and in Europe c) Shanghai, R&D center for emissions control technologies in China Both an R&D and customer development center, the technical center in Shanghai is mainly focused on anticipating ever more stringent international emissions standards and developing technologies to reduce hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), Particulate matter (PM) and CO 2. The technical center is adapted to cover the full spectrum of designs for complete exhaust lines - from the manifold to the tailpipe. Since 2005, Faurecia is deploying with its 210 employees in Shanghai, its high added-value technology expertise, supported by 15 test benches. The Design & Development activities of the Center are focused on four key directions: Developing emissions control solutions to comply with Euro 5 emissions regulations, expected to come into force in China in 2012, to reduce hydrocarbons, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides emissions while also preparing future emissions regulations such as Euro 6; Improving energy performance of engines to contribute to reduce engine fuel consumption, particularly through the development of advanced exhaust manifolds (fabricated vs. cast manifolds). In particular, it is about managing the airflow of the gases through all parts of an exhaust line and managing the backpressure; Developing solutions that aim to substantially reduce CO 2 emissions for vehicles manufactured in China; Designing future acoustic solutions that are more efficient and lighter, contributing to designing a unique sound identity for our customer s vehicles. Currently, the Shanghai R&D center is working on 45 programs for new customer vehicles, as well as on 25 innovation programs. Page 2/6

3 Shanghai, test and tech center Illustrations of Faurecia s global expertise, several thousands of tests are performed on physical exhaust elements every year, thanks to 15 test benches. These serve one main purpose: to physically validate a complete exhaust line and its components in order to meet our commitments in terms of reliability and durability. The following equipment is used in Shanghai (Minbei): - engine test benches; - roto dyno bench; - mono-axial and bi-axial test benches; - hot shakers; - noise, vibration and harshness test benches; - semi anechoic chamber; - chemical laboratory; - data acquisition equipment. Emissions control technologies by Faurecia Faurecia is focusing its R&D efforts on new technologies to both meet current emissions regulations and anticipate future world emissions regulations. a) Emissions regulations and the fight against pollutants Ever more stringent, three leading emissions regulations exist in the world: the North- American, the Japanese and the European. While Faurecia s approach may differ from one region to the other, the different regulations tend to be very similar. China and India already apply Euro 4 and will follow with Euro 5 soon. In 2014 in China, regulations will be similar to Euro 5 (already in force in Europe since September 2009) which will apply to new vehicles and will impose on gasoline engines to reduce by 25% the nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) emissions, compared to Euro 4. Euro 6, or its Chinese equivalent, will come into force later in the decade and will mainly focus on drastically reducing nitrogen oxides. b) Treating exhaust gases efficiently For gasoline engines, the main element which reduces emissions is the catalytic converter, aka the converter. The converter, for the treatment of the main pollutants: HC, NO and CO. Thanks to a chemical reaction, the converter treats in continuous mode the three main pollutants: HC (hydrocarbon), NO (nitrogen oxides or NOx ) and CO (carbon monoxides). Its function is to depollute the exhaust gases. Faurecia develops and manufactures the converter part called canning, i.e. the metallic envelope which protects the ceramics from various shocks such as engine acceleration, bumpy roads : The canning is made of stainless steel, which prevents corrosion caused by the gas flow or outside assaults (atmosphere, salted roads ). Page 3/6

4 c) Lightweighting and energy recovery to reduce CO 2 emissions As a complement to the global expertise of Faurecia, lightweighting is an innovative way to reduce CO 2 emissions, by reducing metal sheet thickness and component shapes. In 5 years, the average exhaust line has lost some 5 kilograms, or 20% of its initial weight, thanks to the know-how of Faurecia engineers. The Group has also developed an exhaust heat recovery system, in partnership with PSA Peugeot-Citroën. Indeed, in an internal combustion engine, 30% of the fuel energy is lost as heat in the exhaust gases. Partly recovering and reusing that energy is a key challenge. Faurecia has set up a series production equipment known as Exhaust Heat Recovery System (EHRS) as standard on the Citroën C4 Picasso made for very cold markets (Scandinavia for example). It is also available as optional equipment on the Peugeot This system allows recovering exhaust heat to warm up the vehicle cabin, thereby increasing thermal comfort. Other solutions are currently under study, mainly for hybrid vehicles. d) Acoustic performance at the heart of Faurecia s expertise Acoustics is key, both for in terms of perceived comfort as well as for the feeling of safety which it generates. Alone, the exhaust system generates 20 to 35% of total vehicle noise. It s on the cold side of the exhaust line that acoustics aspects are treated, both the level in decibels and the type of sound. In its Chinese R&D center in Shanghai, Faurecia contributes to improving the acoustic comfort of vehicles through improvements of muffler configuration, designs, shapes... e) Industrial performance rewarded by Chinese customers Faurecia s know-how on the complete exhaust line, from design to engineering, from start of production to just-in-time delivery is widely recognized by its customers; as the 12 customers awards received in 2010 testify. These awards have been given in recognition of global quality levels reached by Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies production teams: the Shanghai site received following awards: - Best Responsiveness supplier from SAIC engine company; - Best supplier from SVW (Shanghai Volkswagen). the Wuhan site received following awards: - Best supplier from DFPV (Dong Feng Passenger Vehicles); - Excellent supplier from DPCA (Dong Feng Peugeot Citroën Automotive); Q1 supplier from Ford. the Changchun site received following awards: Excellent Supplier and 2010 Key Supplier from FAW group; Excellent Supplier et 2010 Product Development from FAW-VW; Excellent Supplier from FAW-FCC; Excellent Supplier from FAW-Jilin; A-Level supplier from Shenyang Mitsubishi. Page 4/6

5 The customer awards received in China are in line with the high-level deployment maturity of the Faurecia Excellence System in its Chinese production sites. In particular, in Wuhan and Changchun, Faurecia customers have shown these sites as benchmarks to their local suppliers. A peak under the car, the complete exhaust line Description of the various components of a complete exhaust line Lightweight fabricated manifold: lighter than a cast manifold, it collects exhaust gases from the engine before sending them to the exhaust system. For gasoline vehicles, it is used with or without a close coupled converter, in which case it is known as a maniverter. Catalytic converters: used for gasoline and Diesel engines, it allows the chemical or continuous treatment of three main pollutants: HC (hydrocarbons) CO (carbon monoxide) and NO (nitrogen oxides). Advantage: The closer it is to the engine, the faster it becomes fully effective. Exhaust Heat Recovery System (EHRS): a Faurecia innovation, it allows to recover the heat generated by exhaust gases, usually lost, to reuse it and heat the vehicle cabin or the engine compartment. Advantage: reduced fuel consumption and comfort improvement in the cabin. Page 5/6

6 Integrated thermal insulation: certain particulate filters or converters are completely insulated with thermal screens. This allows to reduce the outer shell heat of exhaust components and to keep the heat inside the exhaust line. Advantage: more efficient emissions control. Noise Vibration Harshness / mufflers: acoustic and vibration control, mufflers reduce exhaust noise to levels complying with regulations and with the interior sound comfort expected by the automaker. The hanging and decoupling are also optimized to minimize vibrations in the cabin. Treatment of the noise level (measured in decibels) and modeling of the sound (sound design). Reduction of tube thickness: Faurecia engineering teams used their lightweighting knowhow to reduce the thickness of metal sheets used for certain exhaust components down to 0.8 millimeters. Advantage: weight reduction. Page 6/6