Corning Takes Two Large Steps Toward Global Auto Opportunity | Automotive | Corning

HEFEI, China – As Corning works to capture two significant global automotive opportunities, the company is focusing expertise, and deploying new technologies and production capacity, in the world’s biggest auto market – China.

To help the region’s automakers meet tightening emissions control regulations, Corning is boosting manufacturing capacity at its newest Corning Environmental Technologies facility producing Corning^® DuraTrap^® GC gasoline particulate filters and other emissions control products.

And to drive innovation in the fast-evolving auto interior space, Corning is investing in manufacturing capacity at a Corning Automotive Glass Solutions site. This factory will produce Corning Gorilla Glass for Automotive parts for automotive interiors, a durable and optically advantaged cover glass solution specifically designed for auto interior applications. But Corning’s investment in auto interiors goes far beyond infrastructure.

Automotive Glass Solutions addresses customer demand with in-house capacity

“We are excited to be delivering technical glass solutions that address and accelerate the adoption of more dynamic and visually appealing infotainment systems,” said Michael Kunigonis, vice president and general manager, Automotive Glass Solutions. “We’re bringing a unique set of expertise, perspective, and understanding to our Hefei site that can only come from decades of leadership across not only the automotive market, but the display and mobile consumer electronics markets as well.”

Corning helped create the first displays in 1947 with its television picture tubes and revolutionized the industry with LCD glass in the early 2000s. In the automotive market, Corning has 40+ years of OEM market presence with its cellular ceramic substrates that reduce the  harmful emissions out of vehicle exhaust systems. For mobile consumer electronics, Corning has been a leading cover glass supplier for top OEMs since 2007, with Corning® Gorilla® Glass having been featured on more than six billion devices worldwide.

As Automotive Glass Solutions builds momentum in the industry, leadership sees this investment as a big step forward.

“This marks another significant milestone for Automotive Glass Solutions,” Kunigonis said. “Corning’s investment will deliver the capability, quality and capacity the auto industry needs to drive innovation and supply drivers with the connectivity and user experience they desire.”

Investing to meet growing GPF demand

In Environmental Technologies, Corning’s investment will help capture a potential $500 million global opportunity: gasoline particulate filters. Ramping capacity in Hefei is a strategic response to the upcoming China 6 automotive emissions standard for gasoline vehicles, which are intended to help China contend with its air quality challenges. Automotive exhaust pollutants, such as fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, are known contributors to poor air quality and impact human health.

When China implements China 6 in 2020, it will be the second market to introduce particulate filtration of gasoline engine exhaust, after Europe implements Euro 6d regulations in September 2018.

“Corning has been committed to supporting China’s clean-air initiatives and auto industry since we first entered the China market in the early 1980s and started local emissions control production operations in 2001,” said Wu Dan, regional operations director, APAC, Environmental Technologies.

China 6 emissions standards call for a significant reduction in both gaseous and fine particulate emissions from all gasoline engine vehicles, under new real-driving emissions (RDE) testing. DuraTrap® GC filters are engineered specifically for gasoline engines, giving automakers a next-generation emissions control solution with proven capability to deliver high filtration efficiency of fine particulates, helping them introduce cleaner and safer gasoline vehicles that meet new emissions standards.

“Continued investment in Hefei will help Corning serve customer demand throughout the Asia Pacific region for a variety of emissions control products, including gasoline particulate filters,” Wu Dan said.