ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Systems today announced plans with Gillig Corporation, one of North America's largest producers of transit buses, based in Hayward, Calif., to collaborate on new emissions-control technologies for the North American transit bus industry.
Through the partnership, the two companies will first introduce technologies designed reduce particulate matter (PM) and NOx (oxides of nitrogen) emissions, which are common pollutants in urban areas. These technologies include:
* ArvinMeritor Thermal Regenerator: The "smart" electronically-controlled system that uses a diesel particulate filter, in conjunction with a heat source, to eliminate particulate matter in the filter. This removes filter regeneration issues normally related to duty-cycle of transit buses.
* ArvinMeritor Plasma Fuel Reformer: This advanced breakthrough technology that uses on-demand hydrogen gas to help reduce NOx to levels compatible with the U.S. 2010 requirements, when applied to 2004 model diesel engines. The new technology, in the final development phase, does not require a hydrogen tank on-board nor changes to the infrastructure, representing a significantly lower alternative to compressed natural gas.
"By leveraging our long-standing relationship with Gillig, we intend to benefit both the transit bus industry and the overall environment by creating technologies that reduce harmful emissions, without sacrificing performance or operational efficiencies," said Pedro Ferro, vice president and general manager of ArvinMeritor's Commercial Vehicle Exhaust business.
ArvinMeritor has a long and proven track record history of commercializing products that have a positive impact on the environment, including the company's introduction of the catalytic converter in 1974.
Gillig's creative engineering and aggressive problem solving lead to many innovative and environmentally friendly products. In the early 90's, Gillig produced a variety of alternatively fueled vehicles including those powered by CNG, LNG, Propane and Methanol. These were later followed by the first parallel hybrid electric bus with regenerative braking produced in 1998, which has now become a very popular product for transit industry customers.
Gillig's advanced technology continued with the first production built fuel cell bus in 2003.