Tognum and Hug set up exhaust after treatment JV

The Tognum Group in Germany and the Swiss company Hug Engineering AG have agreed on a joint venture for cooperation in the field of exhaust after treatment. The new company will be established on October 1, with its headquarters in Switzerland.

Specialists from both companies will be cooperating to ensure that large MTU diesel engines in the 2000, 4000 and 8000 series can be fitted with exhaust after treatment systems as a standard feature in the future. CEO of the new operation will be Friedrich Köskemeier from MTU Friedrichshafen. “This joint venture will see the coming together

of two technological leaders with the twin aims of developing exhaust after treatment systems and of setting new standards for pollution removal levels and cost efficiency”, said Volker Heuer, CEO of Tognum AG, emphasizing the significance of the strategic investment.

For MTU as a premium provider of engines and drive systems, turbo charging, fuel injection and electronics have always been three key technologies for a clean and economic combustion process. To fulfill the substantially lower limits of future emission

requirements, additional technologies will be necessary for engine development. These include, for example, so-called SCR (selective catalytic reduction) systems in which nitrogen oxides are reduced by means of ammonia. MTU Friedrichshafen was among the first to conduct research on diesel particle filters and SCR systems and to run tests on prototypes. Hug has been gathering experience in this specialist field over many years and has developed and supplied around 1000 SCR systems for retrofitting on diesel engines in locomotives, ships and industrial plants.

Setting out the future course, Dr. Gerd-Michael Wolters, Member of the Tognum Board of Management responsible for Technology & Operations explained “In the next few years, we will be working with Hug to develop MTU-specific filter and SCR technologies through to standard-production maturity”. The optimization of costs, installation space and weight will play a significant role in this process. “From 2011, we will be ready for standard production.”

The joint venture will invest up to six million Euros over the next few years. Despite this exclusive strategic arrangement, both companies are free to continue cooperation with other partners. Hug is planning to develop the capacity needed for standard production by 2011.