Shecco keeps cars cool
18 Feb 2002
Denso Corporation has signed a global licensing contract with Hydro Pronova AS for the use of its Shecco (Sustainable HEating and Cooling with natural CO2) technology in its automotive air-conditioning and heating systems.
Shecco is an energy efficient and 'green' heating and cooling technology that uses naturally occurring carbon dioxide. The patented technology was developed at SINTEF in Trondheim, and Hydro has the global and exclusive rights to license the technology.
Denso, based in Japan, is one of the three largest global manufacturers of automotive air-conditioning systems and key components. It supplies half the Japanese market and several international car companies with millions of systems every year.
The driving force behind the introduction of Shecco Technology has been to find alternatives to the powerful greenhouse gases presently used as refrigerants in automotive air-conditioning (A/C) systems.
Shecco, however, has two additional benefits compared to current A/C systems: It helps reduce energy consumption by approximately 25%, and it significantly speeds up the interior heating of cars in cold winter conditions.
A recent report from the EU Environment Directorate indicates that by changing from present chemicals to natural carbon dioxide based systems, carmakers may reduce greenhouse gas emissions from European cars with 30 to 40 million tons (sum of leakage and reduced energy consumption) annually by 2010.
