PACE finalists create green breakthroughs

Here are profiles of some of the 28 finalists for the 2010 Automotive News PACE Awards. This group highlights environmental innovations.

What: Automotive News PACE Awards, honoring innovative automotive suppliers in the categories of product, product -- Europe, manufacturing process and capital equipment, and information technology and services

Co-sponsored by: Ernst & Young and Transportation Research Center Inc.

Winners announced: Black-tie ceremony Monday, April 12

Where: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Detroit

Other finalists: Will be featured weekly through the April 5 issue

ZF Getriebe GmbH

Category: Product -- Europe

For: ZF 8HP 8-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars

ZF didn't set out to build a new transmission. But it wanted to improve performance and fuel efficiency while reducing emissions in a modular design that would allow hybrid and all-wheel-drive variants. Its eight-speed transmission improves fuel economy by at least 6 percent vs. current 6-speed transmissions at the same size and lower weight.

Rieter Automotive Management AG

Category: Product -- Europe

For: Rieter Ultra Silent

Most vehicle underbody noise-deadening panels use short glass fibers for stiffness and adhesives to create a sandwich structure. But that raises environmental problems during installation and makes recycling difficult. Rieter eliminated glass fibers and adhesives and came up with a fiber-based product that is extremely lightweight, acoustically tunable, stiff, temperature-resistant and cost-effective.

Meridian Lightweight Technologies Inc.

Category: Product

For: Single-piece cast magnesium liftgate inner panel

For the 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover, Meridian created the world's largest die cast magnesium closure panel. Compared to the original steel design, which had six assembled and welded components, Meridian's single panel saves 21.2 pounds, increases passenger headroom and achieves stiffness targets.

Federal-Mogul Corp.

Category: Manufacturing process and capital equipment

For: DuraBowl piston reinforcement process

Aluminum pistons had almost reached their limit in light-vehicle diesel engines. Higher pressures and hotter combustion were pushing those pistons literally to the breaking point. To cope, Federal-Mogul found a way to remelt the high-stress areas of a piston's combustion bowl, creating a refined aluminum alloy microstructure for greater strength. The piston's durability rose by a factor of four or more. It can be used on 2- to 12-liter engines.

Delphi Corp. Powertrain Systems Division

Category: Product -- Europe

For: Direct-acting piezo common-rail system

Delphi's improved diesel common-rail injection system sets the injector needle in motion directly by using a piezo ceramic actuator rather than moving it via an electrohydraulic circuit, to spray the fuel into the combustion chamber faster and more accurately. This cuts particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions 30 percent and fuel consumption up to 4 percent and raises power up to 8 percent.

Delphi Packard Electrical and Electronic Architecture

Category: Product

For: Delphi Halogen-free 0.13 mm2 cable

Delphi's exceptionally thin cable insulation allowed the supplier to create a wiring-harness cable that is one-third the size of the previous minimum that could stand up to a vehicle's harsh underhood environment. Delphi's cable allows the weight and bundle size of a wiring harness to be slashed with no sacrifice in performance.

Schaeffler KG

Category: Product -- Europe

For: Wheel bearing with face spline Schaeffler's design replaces traditional radial splines with self-centering axial splines where the wheel bearing meets the half-shaft. This allows easier, faster assembly and the transfer of greater torque while improving noise, vibration and harshness. It also cuts weight by 1.3 pounds per axle.