When a vehicle crash triggers an airbag, the chemical reaction that inflates the bag blows out waste particles and gases. Autoliv Inc., Stockholm, Sweden, has found a better way to inflate airbags. Autoliv's new inflator uses hydrogen and oxygen with inert gas to inflate the airbag, which produces water vapor when it deploys, a much better environmental outcome. The mixing of hydrogen and oxygen takes place in the airbag's textile cushion, rather than in a traditional airbag's steel vessel. The new inflator weighs approximately 20 percent less than its counterpart, reducing resource use and energy consumption. If the company increases hydrogen/oxygen airbags to a quarter of its total production, Autoliv could save an estimated 1,000 tons of steel each year.
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