Auto News

Corning Gorilla Glass Is Making Huge Improvements Automobile Energy Efficiency

Just about every business in every industry is looking for a way to become more energy efficient and eco-friendly so that we do not waste important resources. That is particularly true in the automobile industry as we look for ways to conserve fuel and make less of an environmental impact with our vehicles. When you think of ways to improve fuel efficiency, automotive glass may not be the first thing you think of but Corning Gorilla Glass is proving why it should be! Corning Gorilla Glass has been used in the technology industry for things like smartphones, tablets and televisions for many years but now its technology is being used in the automotive industry to make significant strides in automotive energy efficiency.

To understand how glass is impacting fuel efficiency, it is important to understand the technology behind Corning Gorilla Glass. Corning elaborates on just how their Gorilla Glass is saving fuel and improving the environmental impact of automobiles, “Chemically strengthened glass measuring a mere half-millimeter in thickness can be formed into a laminate that reduces the weight of a car windshield by as much as a third, all without sacrificing toughness. Impact resistance can actually improve by nearly 40 percent. Swapping traditional soda-lime glass and laminates for today’s lighter-weight glass alternatives in windshields, side windows, and sunroofs can trim up to 20 kilograms — about 45 pounds — from the overall weight of an average vehicle. That weight reduction alone means better fuel economy and significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions — a reduction of up to 33 kilograms emissions per car, per year. Expand that number to the lifetime of cars sold in a single year — say, 100 million expected to be sold worldwide in 2020 — and the overall carbon dioxide reduction exceeds, 49 billion kilograms, the equivalent of taking 1.4 million cars off the road.”

Gorilla Glass is more durable and scratch resistant as well as significantly lighter. Because of the potential energy savings and reduction in environmental impact, Corning Gorilla Glass is sure to increase in demand and revolutionize the automotive industry. And, Corning’s advancements will not stop at windshield glass, as Forbes notes, “Corning recently announced that it has developed a product to deal with cold start emissions, i.e. vehicular emissions that occur during the first few minutes after starting the engine. Traditional ceramic or metal substrates take time to heat up to their optimal operating temperatures, and are thus ineffective in cleaning emission during the first few minutes. Within these few minutes, gasoline vehicles generate around 70% of their total emissions. Corning’s new substrate, developed from floral material, allows the system to heat up faster leading to more efficient cleaning of emissions in the first few minutes after an engine is started. Considering that the new U.S. emission standards require a reduction in emissions by 75%, cleansing of cold start emissions will be key. Corning’s new substrate, FLORA, will likely see a high demand due to its effectiveness against cold start emissions and should help increase its market share in the automotive exhaust systems market.”