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Volkswagen

Corning innovations keep Volkswagen drivers on the fast track toward clean diesel.

The Challenge

With European drivers ever-hungry for high-performance clean-diesel automobiles, Volkswagen faced a formidable challenge in 2003. Could it ensure a reliable supply of air-cleaning filters for its diesel passenger cars? Would those filters not only take harmful soot out of the diesel exhaust, but also be cost-effective and extremely durable? The complex technology required for such a filter—both in product design and in manufacturing—prompted the German automaker to turn to Corning, a valued resource in their emissions-control efforts since 1975.

The Breakthrough

Corning assembled its top experts in emissions control—scientists, engineers, and manufacturing leaders with deep and broad knowledge of clean-air technologies—to tackle the Volkswagen challenge. Rather than following competitors who were using silicon carbide for light-duty diesel filters, Corning developed an innovative filter material called aluminum titanate.

The risky move resulted in the Corning DuraTrap® AT filter, a product that provides an excellent balance of performance and cost-effectiveness with proven on-road durability. And Corning’s process and manufacturing know-how made possible the steady, reliable supply of the filters Volkswagen needed for its clean-diesel cars.

The Impact

With the development of the Corning DuraTrap AT filter, Corning is helping Volkswagen maintain
its leadership position not only in Europe, but in the global diesel car market. Hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen diesel cars have already been equipped with the Corning DuraTrap AT filter.

Volkswagen plans to introduce the filter in several new applications in the future, helping the automaker continue to meet the requirements of both environmental legislation and green-minded drivers.