HELSINKI - Ahlstrom-Munksjö has developed new capabilities to test gas adsorption performance at its Pont-Evêque R&D centre in France, part of the company's strategy to invest and grow in the electric vehicle and industrial filtration markets.

The investment is targeted at assisting strategic, high-priority R&D projects to develop next generation molecular filters for fuel cell air intake filters, premium cabin air filters (for EV and ICE), and clean room environments.

Gas adsorption performance is the primary technical feature of molecular filter media, with specific products designed to treat gaseous pollutants, thus decision was taken to have internal capability installed at Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

The new capability will enable Ahlstrom-Munksjö to speed up both product development and technical customer support, in addition to being able to insource quality control tests, the company said.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has recently announced the launch of an enhanced portfolio for electric vehicles, delivering additional high-performance solutions for cabin air and transmission filtration.

Testing will also play an important role in supporting future FiltEV launches.

The new equipment is under the responsibility of the Filtration R&D team in Pont-Evêque, with the capability to run tests with ammonia (NH3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), according to ISO10121-1/2 and DIN71460-2 industry standards.

The test bench was specifically designed and customized to meet Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s technical needs, as well as aligning with good practices for safety and the environment.

“Overall, it was an excellent achievement, utilizing great teamwork to have the new capabilities up and running in 5 months," said Tamara Quatrano, VP Product Development Filtration, Filtration and Performance Solutions. "We are pleased to present our new gas adsorption test bench to support our customers in these strategic markets. The plan is to further extend our test capabilities to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with an upgrade of the bench planned for early next year.”