Conti opens hose line competence center in Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan—Continental A.G. has established a sales and hose line competence center for powertrain technologies in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, according to a Jan. 11 statement by ContiTech.

Led by Takeshi Kuroiwa and his team of 15 experts, the unit focuses on powertrain, exhaust and hydrogen technologies and aims to play "an active role" in Japan's strategy to advance the use of hydrogen technology.

"As early as 2017, the government adopted plans for the so-called Hydrogen Society… (which) also concerns individual mobility in particular," said Kuroiwa.

Continental expects to tap into its previous fluid management technologies to deliver sustainable drive technology to Japanese vehicle manufacturers, he added.

"The heatable exhaust pipes of a diesel engine, for example, are not dissimilar to those in a vehicle powered by fuel cells," said Lutz Scholten, head of the emission reduction solutions business segment.

The same, he went on to say, applies to many other components that are also needed in new drive concepts, "either unchanged or further developed."

The activities of the center will not, however, be exclusively focused on electric battery or fuel cell drives.

Particularly in the commercial vehicle sector, Sholten noted that there was currently no "viable, scalable solution" that meets market requirements for range and charging or refueling speed.

"Until that time comes, we also want to make diesel engines for trucks ever more efficient and cleaner," he concluded.