LAKE FOREST, Ill. (Oct. 28, 2009) — Tenneco Inc. has been awarded a $24 million conditional loan commitment as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Incentive Program to develop emission control products.
Tenneco said the funding will support the engineering and manufacturing of emission control products designed to achieve environmental and fuel efficiency objectives for nine advanced technology vehicle programs. The company is the first automotive parts supplier to be selected by the DOE to receive federal loans from the ATVM incentive program. To date, four vehicle manufacturers also have been awarded conditional loans under the $25 billion ATVM program, Tenneco said.
Gregg Sherrill, Tenneco chairman and CEO, said the Lake Forest-based company is “very proud to have our advanced emission control technology recognized as critical to the development of more energy efficient cars and light trucks that meet increased standards for corporate average fuel economy, while also meeting new, more stringent standards for vehicle tailpipe emissions. We're honored to be the first automotive supplier chosen by the Department of Energy to take part in the ATVM incentive program.”
The funding will be applied to the design, engineering integration and production of key after-treatment and exhaust components manufactured by Tenneco, including: catalytic converters, diesel oxidation catalysts, diesel particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction units. Each component reduces the release of harmful pollutants, such as hydrocarbons, particulate matter and nitrogen oxide into the environment, according to Tenneco.
The DOE funded systems will be engineered at the company's emission control engineering center in Grass Lake, Mich, and manufactured at Tenneco facilities in Ligonier, Ind., Litchfield and Marshall, Mich., and Seward, Neb. for use in vehicles as early as model year 2010.
Tenneco markets products under the Monroe, Walker, Gillet and CleviteElastomer brand names.