01/06/2022 | Press release

The technology enterprise Rheinmetall has come out on top in a request for tenders from a prominent, world-spanning German maker of premium automobiles, beating globally operating Tier 1 rivals in the process. Total order volume is in the mid-three-digit million-euro range.

From 2025 to 2032, more than four million blowers and more than 4.5 million valves for secondary air systems will be produced, coupled with additional development services for customer-specific adaptations. Engineered in accordance with special customer requirements, the blower components are waterproof, brushless blowers with an integrated embedded control unit. The components feature intelligent parameter controls capable of processing multiple input variables such as external air temperature and air pressure, thus producing the desired output condition. It can be used in hybrid and conventional configurations alike. The systems consist of blowers and compact, electromagnetically controlled low-leakage valves, likewise designed in accordance with customer specifications.

For the Automotive Emission Systems business unit of Rheinmetall’s Sensors and Actuators division, the order is the first involving mechatronic components with microprocessors for reducing pollution, enabling compliance with the more stringent requirements of planned emission legislation under the framework of the Euro 7 exhaust standard.

Winning this request for tenders vindicates Rheinmetall’s strategy of extending its global market lead in the field of emission reduction. Subsequent orders from other well-known, globe-spanning makers of cars and trucks are expected, as the Euro 7 exhaust norm is almost sure to lead to a further tightening of limits on exhaust emissions starting in 2025.

Secondary air systems are used for pollution reduction because they produce additional heat through an exothermal reaction of the existing combustion exhaust gas, which greatly shortens the heating process in the catalytic converter. To function, catalytic convertors require a minimum temperature, below which catalytic processes cannot take place. Here, secondary air systems help to reduce the time it takes after the engine starts to reach minimum operating temperature. This means that the catalytic convertor reaches full cleaning performance shortly after start of the engine.

Secondary air systems therefore significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide, thus assuring adherence to required limits in future too. Owing to today’s typical start-stop systems and electric drive modes, cold catalytic converters pose a special technical challenge.

Rheinmetall’s Sensors and Actuators division is synonymous with top-notch expertise in thermal and fluid management applications for the automotive sector and other industries. Its five business units – Actuators, Air Emission Systems, Commercial Diesel Systems, Pump Technology, and Solenoid Valves – develop solutions to the huge challenges now facing the world of modern mobility, including downsizing, emissions reduction, and increased efficiency, in tandem with the need for optimized performance. The division’s extensive portfolio encompasses a wide array of exhaust gas recycling systems; electromotor-powered throttle valves, control dampers and exhaust flaps; solenoid valves; actuators and valve train systems; as well as oil, water and vacuum pumps for cars, trucks and offroad vehicles, ranging from light- to heavy- duty applications and industrial solutions.