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Inaugural Product Showcase prize winners announced at Autosport International
The latest developments in the world of motorsport engineering
Fuel-tank manufacturer Aero Tec Laboratories
(ATL) has won Autosport International’s Product Showcase Cross-industry Application Award – presented by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) – for its FIA FT5-1999 fuel cell.
The award is aimed at products that have demonstrated their potential application in sectors of industry as well as in motorsport. ATL’S FT5 fuel cell was considered the strongest candidate among its competitors, and was recognised as the winner of the cross-industry category in the inaugural Product Showcase Awards.
“Companies are continuously looking to improve the safety of those who engage with their technology,” said MTA technical manager Joshua Dugdale. “Whether you work in marine, aerospace, automotive, defence or construction, safety is of paramount importance. The innovation and technology utilised in the design and construction of the FIA FT5-1999 has allowed ATL to position themselves as the industry leader for fuel cells within motorsport.
“At the MTA, we felt that this technology, which sets the safety standard for motorsport, has huge potential to be utilised across a number of other industries, aiding their continuous drives to improve safety.”
ATL’S FT5-1999 fuel cells are primarily developed for use in Formula 1, in which the company has supplied every team on the grid with its products over the past 20 years, but have also been adapted for other categories in motorsport, including Super Formula and the World Rally Championship.
Produced using a combination of Kevlar and elastomers, ATL’S fuel cells can be tailor-made to a range of applications, while keeping to the same FIA specifications.
Designed to be resistant to tears and punctures in motorsport, the high-performance nature of the FT5 bladder can also be built to comply with other applications, such as the defence or aerospace industries in which safety when handling fuel is paramount. This is enhanced with fabric internal baffles to prevent sloshing within the tank, also ensuring efficient fuel pick-up while in use.
Already involved in the marine and aviation sectors, ATL has used its motorsport expertise to pioneer its development of fuel-cell technology, and can transfer its Fia-homologated fuel cells into more-diverse fields given the flexibility of the design.
Among the other category winners were Bcomp’s powerribs™ (Innovation) – a lightweight composite reinforcement product developed with the European Space Agency – and the Texense IRN8-WS4 IR sensor (Data & Measurement) used in Porsche’s record-setting 919 Hybrid Evo.