TI Group Automotive Develops Ultra-Low Emission Fuel Tank System

30 November 2000
TI Group Automotive Develops Ultra-Low Emission Fuel Tank System
    WARREN, Mich., Nov. 29 TI Group Automotive Systems, the
world's leading supplier of automotive fluid storage and delivery systems, has
developed a "breakthrough" fuel tank system that will help vehicle
manufacturers meet stringent new emissions control requirements.
    TI Automotive's system encloses fuel pumps, level sensors and other
components in plastic, blow molded fuel tanks to limit emissions.
    The new technology, referred to by TI Automotive as its "ship-in-a-bottle"
(SIB) fuel tank system, is designed to help automakers meet increasingly
stringent emissions legislation around the world, including LEVII and ZEV
legislation in California.
    The SIB system requires only one or two openings in a fuel tank shell,
whereas past tanks often had up to six or seven.  "SIB dramatically reduces
the level of emissions from the fuel tank system," Ron McIntosh, TI
Automotive's global technology director said.  "When components such as
valves, lines and filters are attached to the exterior of the fuel tank and
exposed to the atmosphere, as formerly configured, emissions can be released."
    The blow molding technique and innovative fuel systems architecture
perfected by TI Automotive enable vehicle manufacturers to take advantage of
the widely known benefits of plastic fuel tanks, including weight savings,
cost savings and design flexibility, while significantly reducing evaporative
emissions from the system.
    An added advantage of the system is its proven ability to increase the
volume of fuel stored in a vehicle.  By putting components inside, the tank
can be enlarged to use space previously needed for external components and the
tank shell.
    The breakthrough design proves that advanced-design plastic tank systems
can deliver the benefits of low emissions.  Analysts now predict the global
use of plastic fuel tanks will increase from about 40 percent today to around
60 percent by 2004.
    McIntosh explains: "The development of this new tank represented a number
of challenges.  The first was to redefine our blow molding process to permit
the inclusion of the required components, with enhanced product integrity.
    "A further challenge was to redefine testing routines.  For example,
extremely low emissions targets mean that a single drop of fuel on the surface
of the tank could invalidate testing.
    "The results speak for themselves and we are delighted with the
enthusiastic response we have already had from vehicle manufacturers."