STOCKHOLM--February 28, 2012:
Autoliv Inc. ' the global leader in automotive safety systems ' has developed a completely new concept for inflating airbags that is more environmentally friendly and more cost efficient than traditional inflator technologies. In addition, it reduces the inflator's weight by 20% compared to most inflators for the intended application.
The new inflator went into production earlier this year, in a passenger-side airbag for a European manufacturer of premium-brand vehicles.
The new inflator uses hydrogen and oxygen with inert gas to inflate the airbag, instead of pyrotechnic substances. As a result, there are no waste particles at all from the combustion and no effluent gases ' not even carbon dioxide. The only side product is regular vapor which, when cooled off, becomes just a few drops of 100% pure water ' making the inflator extremely environmentally friendly.
In addition, the mixing of the hydrogen and the oxygen takes place in the textile cushion of the airbag, instead of in a steel vessel as in traditional airbag inflators, which allows for a thinner and lighter steel container and reduces weight and costs.
The weight reduction depends on the original inflator but is approximately 20% compared to most traditional inflators for airbags on the front passenger side. If only a quarter of Autoliv's own needs for such passenger airbag inflators will be converted to the new hydrogen/oxygen technology, the Company would save 1,000 tons of steel every year. Additionally, the vehicles with the new inflator would reduce their fuel consumption by more than 8 million liters over the expected life time of the vehicles.
The new hydrogen/oxygen inflator which is called APG (for Autoliv Passenger-inflator Gas) will primarily be used in frontal airbags for the front-passenger side where higher gas quantities are required than for other airbags in a vehicle. The next step of this technology is to develop a dual-stage version of the inflator to be able to adjust the gas flow to the severity of the crash and to other parameters. This will be done using two independent ignitors and varying the time lapse a few milliseconds between the ignitions.
About Autoliv
Autoliv Inc., the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems, develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all major automotive manufacturers in the world. Together with its joint ventures, Autoliv has approximately 80 facilities with nearly 48,000 employees in 29 countries. In addition, the Company has ten technical centers in nine countries around the world, with 21 test tracks, more than any other automotive safety supplier. Sales in 2011 grew by 15% to US $8.2 billion. The Company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and its Swedish Depository Receipts on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm (ALIV sdb).
