BASF supports environmentally friendly Formula 3 car
BASF's Catalysts Division is supporting the first racing car designed and made from renewable materials. The WorldFirst Formula 3 car, which was developed by the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (WIMRC) at the University of Warwick, has recently completed successful test runs.
The WorldFirst is a technical exercise to prove the practical application of sustainable and renewable materials in competitive motorsport. It is the first racing car designed and made from renewable materials.
BASF also contributed product and technology assistance to help the WIMRC build the "green" race car by providing its PremAir catalyst, a technology when applied to the car's radiator, destroys ground-level ozone, a leading contributor to smog.
BASF's PremAir catalyst is the first commercial product that destroys harmful, ground-level ozone already in the air. Unlike stratospheric ozone, which protects us from the sun's ultraviolet rays, ground-level ozone is a main component of smog and presents a serious air quality problem.
When applied to heat-exchange surfaces, such as car radiators and bus radiators, PremAir effectively turns them into 'smog eaters'. The catalyst reduces ozone in the air that passes over coated surfaces by converting ozone molecules into oxygen molecules instantly upon contact. Depending on the radiator design, PremAir catalysts can destroy up to 80% of ground-level ozone that passes across it.
