DRiV™, Research Partners Receive EU Marie Curie Grant to Develop Wheel-Corner Concepts for Autonomous Vehicles

LAKE FOREST, Ill., Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DRiV™, a Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN) business and leading global aftermarket and OE ride performance supplier, and several research partners have received a European Union Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions mobility grant for development and evaluation of advanced wheel-corner concepts for autonomous vehicles. DRiV will collaborate with Arrival ltd, a London based technology company designing and manufacturing Generation 2.0 electric vehicles, and several leading universities and industrial organizations in Project OWHEEL, which will produce recommendations for improving ride dynamics and passenger comfort through innovative wheel-corner designs.

Established in 1996, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) is a fellowship program that awards grants to promote interdisciplinary research and international collaborations. The EU Research Executive Agency has awarded more than €6 billion in MSCA grants for projects dedicated to excellence and worldwide mobility in research.

Partners in Project OWHEEL will develop and benchmark the performance of four next-generation wheel-corner concepts – passive corner with stationary wheel positioning, passive composite corner, active corner with conventional ride dynamics control, and active corner with integrated wheel positioning control – intended to enhance passenger comfort in autonomous operation. Project partners will collaborate in development design, extensive simulation studies and experimental validation of each proposed concept.

"OWHEEL's main goal is to provide fact-based recommendations for future vehicle suspension architecture," said Brad Norton, executive vice president and president, Ride Performance, DRiV.  "DRiV engineers have pioneered the exploration of advanced ride dynamics control for emerging mobility platforms, including electric and autonomous vehicles. Several of these solutions are already commercially available within our Monroe^® Intelligent Suspension portfolio."

In addition to DRiV and Arrival Ltd., OWHEEL research partners are Delft University of Technology (Netherlands); University of Modena Dipartimento di Ingegneria "Enzo Ferrari", and University of Naples Federico II (Italy); Ilmenau University of Technology (Germany); University of Surrey (United Kingdom); Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania); National University Corporation, the University of Tokyo (Japan); and University of Pretoria (South Africa).

About DRiV™ - the future Aftermarket and Ride Performance Company

Following the expected separation of Tenneco to form two- independent companies, an Aftermarket and Ride Performance company (DRiV™) as well as a new Powertrain Technology company, DRiV will be one of the largest global multi-line, multi-brand aftermarket companies, and one of the largest global OE ride performance and braking companies. DRiV's principal product brands will feature Monroe^®, Ӧhlins^®, Walker^®, Clevite^® Elastomers, MOOG^®, Fel-Pro^®, Wagner^®, Ferodo^®, Champion^® and others. DRiV would have 2018 pro-forma revenues of $6.4 billion, with 54% of those revenues from aftermarket and 46% from original equipment customers.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to our plans to separate into two independent companies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, including the possibility that Tenneco may not complete the separation of the Aftermarket & Ride Performance business from the Powertrain Technology business (or achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of such a separation); the possibility that the acquisition of Federal-Mogul or the separation may have an adverse impact on existing arrangements with Tenneco, including those related to transition, manufacturing and supply services and tax matters; the ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers or other business partners; the risk that the benefits of the acquisition of Federal-Mogul or the separation, including synergies, may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the risk that the acquisition of Federal-Mogul or the separation may not advance Tenneco's business strategy; the risk that Tenneco may experience difficulty integrating all employees or operations; the potential diversion of Tenneco management's attention resulting from the separation; as well as the risk factors and cautionary statements included in Tenneco's periodic and current reports (Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K) filed from time to time with the SEC. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date of this communication, and, except as required by law, Tenneco does not undertake any obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to publicly disclose revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements. Additional information regarding these risk factors and uncertainties is detailed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

                                                                       

SOURCE DRiV