This is the particle filter that helps vehicles clean the air

The brand with the four rings is developing a particle filter that helps vehicles clean the air. The carmaker has partnered with Man+Hummel to develop the new technology. Although carmakers like to say that electric vehicles have zero emissions, in reality that is not true. While their electric powertrains do not emit, like all vehicles, the tyres, the brakes and what they lift off the road account for 85 per cent of the fine dust caused by traffic.

The World Health Organization has recommended significantly reducing particle limits this year, but carmakers believe it will not actually be possible to meet the lower regulations. So Audi is working on this filter to offset what vehicles cannot avoid emitting.

The filter is a fairly simple setup that is installed in front of the radiator so as to alter the vehicle’s design as little as possible. In tests, Audi found that this had no impact on the vehicle’s ability to cool down, even on hot days or while standing still.

Audi Urban Purifier

While driving, the filter passively cleans the air that passes through it, while the existing radiator fans can draw in air even when the E-Tron is parked. Audi says it has completed more than 50,000 km of endurance testing on the E-Tron. In cities with higher pollution levels, such as Stuttgart, the company claims that its electric SUV with the filter switched on captured exactly the same amount of fine dust particles that it emitted, neutralising its impact on the city. In even more polluted cities, it could filter even more.

The carmaker says these filters only need to be replaced during a vehicle’s regularly scheduled maintenance intervals. The entire filter system represents 14.9 kg of CO2 equivalents and is made with 60% recycled materials.

Fabian Groh, project manager in attached systems development, has said that “this particle filter is an example of our pursuit of innovation for the benefit of everyone and a successful collaboration with specialised suppliers. We are already doing a lot today on our own initiative. We anticipate that it will also become a legal requirement in the future.”