xperion says that the tanks will use 3M's matrix resin technology. A new xperion facility, currently being constructed near Columbus, Ohio will deliver production of these new tanks starting later this year.
“Our mutual goal is to bring superior value to customers in order to accelerate the industry’s adoption of CNG,” said Rory Yanchek, Vice President and General Manager for 3M’s Aerospace & Commercial Transportation Division. “Many other companies in this space have limited capabilities, but xperion brings broad composites experience and deep manufacturing knowledge on a global scale.”
“The location of this new facility is significant – it will be the closest source of supply of Type 4 tanks for multiple heavy-duty OEM manufacturers,” said Sean Ellen, General Manager of xperion. “Combine this dedicated facility with 3M’s pipeline of materials and technologies and our skilled engineering and design team in Kassel, Germany, and we believe we have a solution that will deliver superior value to customers.”
3M and xperion plan to continue to address the light-duty CNG segment as well, where 3M commercially introduced its first CNG tank early last year and xperion introduced its X-STORE® CNG tank in 2008. The two companies will collaborate to provide similarly sized tanks in this space, now using the xperion X-STORE cylinders. 3M and xperion will work to incorporate 3M’s proprietary nanoparticle resin into the design of X-STORE tanks.
