Visteon Discusses Alternative Refrigerant Options at SAE Symposium

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich., June 9, 2008 -- Visteon Corporation , an industry leader in alternative refrigerants, has been chosen to present its expertise at the 2008 SAE Automotive Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium, June 9-12 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

As emissions from man-made greenhouse gasses (GHG) and their effect on the environment are a continued concern, the mobile air conditioning industry is investigating methods to reduce GHG emissions. The ninth SAE 2008 Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium is a forum at which companies like Visteon will to delve deeper into the issue.

Visteon is committed to developing safe and reliable climate control system and component solutions for the global automotive market. Visteon is committed to investigating the impact of new potential refrigerant alternatives and developing solutions for performance optimization. For example, at the 2006 conference, Visteon demonstrated two drivable vehicles -- one using an R744-based air conditioning system and the other using Fluid H. Visteon's most recent generation R744 system consumes less incremental fuel for A/C operation compared to conventional state-of-the-art R-134a systems.

As part of Visteon's continuing alternative refrigerant systems development, Dr. John Meyer, a Visteon climate control technical fellow, will present a discussion on system enhancements for the use of HFO-R1234yf. The presentation is on Tuesday, June 10.

Dr. Meyer will discuss the refrigerant properties of R1234yf and resulting technologies and strategies to optimize system performance. R1234yf is being put forward as a possible near drop-in replacement for R-134a, the predominate refrigerant used in today's mobile air conditioning systems. Dr. Meyer will present enhancement options that allow the R1234yf system performance to match that of R134a. R1234yf has a global warming potential (GWP) rating of four, compared to a GWP of 1300 for R-134a, allowing it to meet the European legislation with the GWP limit of 150 (affects new vehicle types brought into the market as of 2011).

"As a global automotive supplier, Visteon has in-depth climate systems expertise and broad development capabilities enabling the company to supply components and system solutions for either R744 or R1234yf," explains Joy Greenway, vice president of Visteon climate controls. "It's a privilege to share our expertise at industry forums as important as this."

Visteon Corporation is a leading global automotive supplier that designs, engineers and manufactures innovative climate, interior, electronic and lighting products for vehicle manufacturers, and also provides a range of products and services to aftermarket customers. With corporate offices in Van Buren Township, Mich. (U.S.); Shanghai, China; and Kerpen, Germany; the company has facilities in 26 countries and employs approximately 40,000 people.