MAHLE goes forward. New coatings and acquisitions

MAHLE develops a new generation of piston coatings

A new generation of MAHLE piston coatings is being developed with the purpose of increasing efficiency and minimizing emissions. These coatings are intended to guide and reduce the heat entering the pistons. This initially reduces the demand for piston cooling, and the increased exhaust gas temperature allows a higher quantity of energy to be extracted by waste heat recovery (WHR) systems. At the same time, the higher exhaust gas temperature permits faster heating of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system following the cold start. The resulting decrease in NOx emissions makes it easier to comply with current and future legislation.

SEE ALSO: BORG WARNER, FROM WASTE HEAT TO ELECTRICAL ENERGY

MAHLE achieved additional positive effects by optimizing the piston galleries, one example of this improvement is the MonoLite piston with its kidney-shaped cross section. This allows a temperature reduction of up to 20 Kelvin without any negative impact on the aging process of the oil used. The combination of reduced oil flow and a small compression height helps to minimize friction and fuel consumption.

MAHLE for the future of combustion engines

In the commercial vehicle sector, the diesel engine will remain the dominant drive source for the foreseeable future, despite increasing diversification of the powertrain. This makes it even more important to continuously develop the diesel engine in order to reduce emissions and operating costs. This are some of the main objectives of the research that the company is currently developing.

MAHLE goes even beyond…

In August 2018, MAHLE Group acquired all the shares in the former joint venture Behr Thermot-tronik Italia S.p.A. (BTTI), which has been renamed MAHLE Behr Grugliasco S.p.A. with immediate effect.

At its headquarters in Grugliasco near Turin in northern Italy, the company develops and produces a broad range of thermostat products for use in all vehicle classes. The employment contracts of the currently around 120 employees are expected to remain unchanged, and no physical relocations are planned.

Bernd Eckl, Member of the Management Board and responsible for the Thermal Management business unit at MAHLE, said: «We are delighted that the employees of BTTI will now belong fully to MAHLE. Their skills and experience will secure the successful development of MAHLE Behr Grugliasco».

BTTI’s products are already an important component of MAHLE’s portfolio, as complex thermal management tasks within the vehicle can only be realized by intelligently controlling the energy flows that arise. Control systems such as map controlled thermostats ensure precise temperature regulation tuned to meet demand and thus promote more efficient operation, reduced consumption, less wear, and lower emissions.

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About BTTI

Behr Thermot-tronik Italia was created in 1997 from Behr Thomson Italia. Since it was founded, the joint venture has worked closely with Behr Thermot-tronik’s other entities. These have already been fully integrated in the Group for some time as part of MAHLE’s majority acquisition of Behr in 2013.

About MAHLE

MAHLE is a leading international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry as well as a pioneer for the mobility of the future. The Group is committed to making transportation more efficient, more environmentally friendly, and more comfortable by continuously optimizing the combustion engine, driving forward the use of alternative fuels, and laying the foundation for the worldwide introduction of e-mobility.

In 2017, the group generated sales of approximately 12.8 billion euro with about 78,000 employees and is represented in more than 30 countries with 170 production locations.