Bosch and Denso form diesel particulate filter joint venture

26 October 2006

Robert Bosch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, and Denso Corporation of Kariya, Japan, have agreed to set up a fifty-fifty joint venture in eastern Europe to develop and manufacture diesel particulate filters. The joint venture is planned for establishment in early 2007.

From 2009 onward, the joint venture would manufacture high performance and cost-effective diesel particulate filter substrates made of cordierite. The filters would be marketed separately by Bosch and Denso.

It is expected that particulate filters will become standard equipment for all new diesel-powered cars in Europe to meet the Euro 5 emission standards. Accordingly, Bosch and Denso expect that the market for particulate filters will grow strongly.

Bosch has considerable system experience in the diesel exhaust gas management. In particular, Bosch management software, which controls the regeneration of particulate filters, is in widespread use since 2002.

Since 2000, particulate filters have been increasingly used on a voluntary basis, first by the French and then also by German carmakers. Today’s filters for passengers cars utilize mostly silicon carbide wall-flow monolith substrates, with a limited usage of aluminum titanate filters, rather than cordierite. Cordierite filters are less expensive and lighter than silicon carbide, but are more prone to damage from exposure to high temperatures, such as encountered during filter regeneration. Cordierite filters are expected to be widely used in US 2007 heavy-duty trucks.

Source: Bosch