How SKF Are Producing Products With The Environment In Mind

SKF, one of the world's leading ball bearing suppliers and manufacturers have released a range of new, environmentally-friendly products.

As well as being a bearing company, SKF are also in the game of linear actuators, and they have now released a solar-powered linear actuator.

The CASD-60, a BeyondZero Portfolio product, is capable of reducing CO2 emissions by increasing the energy production of one solar panel by around 5.8 MWh/year. This results in a reduction per solution of 4.4 tonnes CO2/year. In comparison to rigid PV solar panel systems, there is a 15% increase in power generation.

Mahdi Sebti, Global Segment Manager, SKF Renewable Engery, Solar, explains: "Harnessing renewable energy is one of the most effective solutions for reducing carbon dioxide."

"SKF's advanced electromechanical technology offers improvements over today's maintenance-intensive solutions and delivers high performance, accuracy and efficiency by accurately tracking the sun's position throughout the day and throughout the seasons," he added.

Another actuator that could reduce energy consumption is the SKF Bus Door Actuator, which operates with a reduced energy consumption of 80-90%, meaning that city buses using these actuators instead of pneumatic actuators saves around 1.9 tonnes CO2/year.

SKF's Low Weight Hub Bearing Unit is also capable of reducing energy consumption, as well as 0.25g CO2 per km when applied to the four wheels of a lightweight commercial vehicle. During an annual mileage of 14,500 km, the saving could be as much as 3 Kg CO2 per year.

If one million cars used this solution, the annual reduction of CO2 would be around 3,600 tonnes.

Combating emissions from vehicles has been the holy grail in terms of developing green technology. One innovation that has been brought into existence are stop-start systems for micro-hybrid vehicles. SKF's new Rotor Positioning bearing is a potentially vital component for this new technology. Stop-start can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 15%.

SKF have even developed stop-start technology for two-wheeled vehicles, coinciding with their recent drive to succeed in the two-wheeler market. This piece of technology aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 5g per km. If one million motorcycles had such equipment fitted, it would lead to a reduction of 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

More savings can be made with SKF's Low Friction Engine Seal, which helps to reduce the negative impact of friction by up to 55%, and can provide a gasoline fuelled vehicle with CO2 savings of over 1 g per kilometre. During a yearly mileage of 14,500 km, this results in a potential reduction of 14.5kg/CO2 per year.

With climate change becoming such a hotly contested issue, it seems that SKF is determined to do its part.