Modine's idle-off system could help reduce waste

By Journal Times staff

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:12 AM CDT

RACINE - Modine Manufacturing Co. announced a new fuel cell product Monday that it said will reduce emissions into the air and cut costs for over-the-road truck drivers.

Modine said the new idle reduction system, or idle-off, incorporates high-efficiency, zero-emissions fuel cells with atmospheric carbon-dioxide as the refrigerant.

The idle-off system can be used for both cooling and heating the sleeper cabin in a heavy-duty truck.

To comply with "hours of service laws," long-haul truck drivers must have an off-duty period of 10 hours after driving 14 hours. If the driver wants to heat or cool the sleeping compartment during that time, the truck must be idling. The Department of Energy estimates that more than 1 billion gallons of fuel are consumed each year while trucks idle in these situations.

"This is going to get worse, as the new laws take effect," said Tony De Vuono, Modine's vice president and chief technology officer. "More truck drivers will be pulling over and taking a rest, requiring them to idle. This is setting up a conflict as 22 states have pending legislation that limits idling in some form."

The new technology will reduce energy consumption while still providing a comfortable air-conditioned or heated sleeper cab for truck drivers, he added.

The new carbon-dioxide air-conditioning and heating system was designed internally by Modine at its research-and-development facility in Racine.

Carbon-dioxide, or CO2, is an environmentally friendly refrigerant with zero Ozone Depletion Potential and zero net Global Warming Potential as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Kyoto

Protocol.

Modine said the properties of CO2 make it advantageous for both cooling and heating a

vehicle.

Modine bought the fuel cell power pack from General Hydrogen Corp. The fuel cell power pack uses hydrogen gas as the fuel with the only byproduct being water.

The thermal management system was designed and built by Modine's fuel cell products group.

Combining the fuel cell, CO2 and heating/ventilation systems in one package is "something that no one has done before," stated Modine Director of Research and Development Jonathan Wattelet.

In another announcement, last week Modine announced it has through its subsidiary Thermacore International, high-temperature titanium heat pipes to NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

The heat pipes are evaluation prototypes in support of NASA's effort to develop radiator panels for rejecting heat from power generation systems for long duration space and planetary base missions. They could be used on trips to the moon, Jupiter and destinations farther out in space.

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