Industrial conglomerate Hidria has closed deals worth EUR 110m to supply a diesel-cold start system with pressure sensor glow plug to car makers. Its innovative solution will cut emissions and fuel consumption.
The system monitors pressure directly inside the engine cylinder, sending information directly to the engine control unit to adjust in real time fuel injection and other parameters key to optimal combustion.
Presenting its innovation to reporters in Ljubljana on Friday, Hidria officials would not disclose the names of car manufacturers they signed deals with for the supply of the system in 2017-2021.
They did say though that the company would satisfy more than 30% of global demand in the segment and that in some cases it would be the only supplier in the field.
Concrete models to be supported with Hidria technology will only be known when the cars are put on the roads at the beginning of 2018.
Hidria CEO Iztok Seljak labelled the diesel cold-start system one of the most important breakthrough innovations of Slovenian industry in recent years.
Protected with nine international patents plus two pending, the system has been in development since 2009, an investment that cost Hidria EUR 25m.
Apart from being the product of Hidria's own expertise, the technology is a result of work by the Sieva development centre, a consortium of nine Slovenian companies looking for innovative solutions for better fuel efficiency and lower harmful emissions with the government's support.
The new system will reduce harmful gas emissions and fuel consumption in Euro 6.2 and Euro 7 diesel engines by up to 30%. The pressure sensor glow plug also brings cost savings in that it will replace some other sensors in the engine.
The system and the equipment for its production will be fully developed and manufactured in Hidria's technology hub in Koper, a part of Hidria AET of Tolmin, which will double sales from EUR 30m over the next five years.
Hidra expects for the EUR 110m deals and other contracts to enable it to implement its goal to increase revenue from EUR 250m to EUR 350m by 2018.
Source:Slovenia Times
