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Environmentally
compatible mobilityfueled by compressed natural gas
With the Zafira
CNG the Ruesselsheim based car manufacturer Opel had introduced an
attractive model in the natural-gas segment of the market in January 2002
and consequently presented a CNG successor with the new Zafira generation
start in 2005. In contrast to other vehicles in its class the Zafira CNG
features the ,monovalent plus' operating mode. This concept combines the
advantages of both monovalent and bivalent systems. Four large-capacity CNG
tanks provide an operating range of up to 350 kilometers in the natural-gas
operating mode. There is also an additional gasoline tank in reserve,
installed between the natural-gas tanks. Its capacity of only 14 liters is
so small that the Zafira CNG can be classified as a monovalent vehicle. In
emergencies the gasoline provides an additional operating range of about 150
km - enough to bridge supply gaps in the natural-gas filling station
network.
Concept
When a car is
modified to operate on natural gas there is always the problem of where to
accommodate the fuel tanks and associated components without curtailing the
load space at the same time. Among the manufacturers there is a clear
tendency to install under floor tanks - as in the Zafira CNG.
The entire
fuel-tank system, consisting of four natural-gas cylinders and a 14-liter
gasoline tank, is arranged in two separate groups - in front of and behind
the rear axle. To guarantee additional crash safety the two systems are
mounted in safety cages made of high strength special steel tube, as used
among other things for the design of safety roll bars, in motor sport.
Project
handling
Bertrandt
Ruesselsheim's project work began in November 2000 by collecting data on
CNG
components such as the tank unit, its plastic covers and the tubular frame
from a prototype car ready for service. Package investigations of the
body-in-white, floor pan assembly and chassis were followed by detailed
designs for the structural components of the exhaust system and its
fastenings, the fuel pipe system, the tank filler neck and various engine
parts.
Design work was
carried out with Bertrand's complete team over the entire project period
until the production launch in January 2002. The follow-up Astra CNG project
shows that Bertrandt has built up know-how in the promising alternative fuel
systems market segment and can apply it effectively for the benefit of its
customers.
Bertrandt
was founded 1974 and it has become one of Europe's leading engineering
service providers to the international automotive industry. Bertrandt was
one of the first to identify the growing trend towards the outsourcing of
development services to external partners; consequently it decided to
specialize in this field and has profited as a result.
Today, roughly
3,000 employees at 19 sites throughout Europe and the US are working in
close proximity to their customers to provide them with customised solutions
ranging from individual components to modules and complete vehicle
derivatives. Bertrandt's main customers include carmakers such as Audi, BMW,
DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM / Opel, Porsche, Renault and Volkswagen as well as
a number of major systems suppliers.
In order to
optimise its end-to-end development processes, in recent years Bertrandt has
continuously extended its range of services to meet its customers' needs.
The company implemented the Bertrandt Engineering Network in response to the
growing demands of its project business. By classifying the services it
offers into the four categories
* Supporting
Services
* Specialized
Services
* Engineering of
Modules
* Engineering of
Derivatives
Bertrandt aims to add value for its customers.
They have
re-aligned their strategy and restructured their organisation according to
the changing demands of the customers and therewith laid the foundations for
both qualitative and quantitative future growth. We intend to achieve
above-trend growth and thus to increase market share in the four potential
growth areas of powertrain, electronics, supporting services, testing and
trials.
Bertrandt's
sound financial structure and skilled workforce throughout their internal
network are further cornerstones of their long-term corporate success. Their
objective is that the customers perceive them as a quality-conscious,
flexible service company that is a market leader in its areas of
specialisation.
For
further information visit:
www.bertrandt.com or
contact
in Germany:
Bertrandt
AG
Corporate
Communication
Birkensee
1
71139 Ehningen /
Germany
Phone
01149(0)7034-656-4480
Fax
01149(0)7034-656-4090
E-mail
unternehmenskommunikation@de.bertrandt.com
in the United
States:
Bertrandt
US, Inc.
Thomas Max
17000 17 Mile Rd,
Suite 200
Clinton Township,
MI 48038
Phone 586-226-5100
Fax 586-226-9209
This article
concludes our series about alternative energies in conjunction with the
conference in Detroit BIOFUELS 2005 - TRANSPORTING RENEWABLES INTO THE
FUTURE", that was held at the Detroit Athletic Club on Tuesday, November
29th, 2005. The conference was organized by the German American Chamber of
Commerce of the Midwest in association with the German Energy Agency (DENA)
and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labor (BMWA).
This conference
offered the rare opportunity to communicate with key speakers from
well-known companies of Germany's biofuel industry. The presence of these
industry representatives also allowed the participants to evaluate mutual
collaborations for new biofuel projects in the United States and Germany. In
light of the current energy problems we are facing around the globe the
timing of the conference could not have been better chosen.
We
appreciate the initiation and organization of this series by Reinhard H.
Lemke, Esq. His support was very helpful getting the information about the
conference out at an early stage to a global audience. Reinhard Lemke, a
long time member of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest and
formerly the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, is an attorney with
Plunkett & Cooney in Bloomfield Hills, assisting German companies with a
wide range of legal and economic development services. Established in 1913,
Plunkett & Cooney, known as Michigan's law firm, is one of Michigan's oldest
and most accomplished full-service law firms.For further information visit
www.plunkettcooney.com. |
