Milan-Bergamo, 15 May 2008 – Pirelli Eco Technology, a company in the Pirelli Group active in technology for lowering pollutant emissions from diesel engines, signed an agreement for the supply of about 150 particulate filters to some Lombardy-based companies in the Arriva Italia Group, a leading operator in passenger transportation present in Lombardy, Piedmont and Friuli Venezia. The aim of the initiative is to reduce by more than 90% the particulate emissions from about 150 inter-city buses.

Thanks to installation of the Pirelli filter apparatus, the Arriva Italia Group will reduce by about 12,000 kg annually the particulate matter emitted into the atmosphere by the buses in its fleet in circulation. Thanks to this agreement, the buses of the Arriva Italia Group on which the filter systems are installed, will significantly improve their emissions classes, which will be able to change from Euro 0 or Euro 1 to Euro 3 or Euro 4/5, according to the age and type of engine.
This solution has been realized in accordance with the currently applicable regional norms for prevention and protection of health and environment, which exempt vehicles with particulate filters from possible limits on traffic circulation. The Transportation Ministry, in its Decree published on 13 March 2008, recognized the benefits of this technology, admitting its registration on circulation documents. This allows for modification of the "Euro" class of the bus or heavy vehicle, updating particulate emissions to more recent classes.

Arriva p.l.c., which is present in Europe in 10 nations and counts more than 15,000 vehicles, is highly committed to environmental protection and involved in various initiatives for containment of fuel and energy consumption and experimentation with alternative and ecological energy sources.
Cesare Salerno, Managing Director of the Arriva Italia Group, said "fitting with particulate filters is an optimal solution which allows for containment of gas emissions even of older vehicles, making them absolutely comparable, from this point of view, with newer vehicles. With this initiative Arriva confirms its commitment to environmental protection, and hopes this commitment can be shared by everyone through greater use of public transportation."
"The choice of the Arriva Italia Group - said Bruno Tronchetti Provera, Managing Director of Pirelli Eco Technology - demonstrates the usefulness of the technology developed by Pirelli in support of the commitment by public transportation companies to combat particulate matter emissions. With the simple substitution of the muffler and installation of our filter system, available in 40 different solutions for buses, transportation companies can comply with EU norms in terms of polluting emissions."

Pirelli Eco Technology
Pirelli Eco Technology is the company in the Pirelli Group active in solutions for sustainable mobility and reduction of emissions of diesel engines with the production of Gecam, the white diesel, and Feelpure particulate filters. Filter systems for buses and heavy vehicles already in circulation (retrofit) are manufactured in the factory in Arese in the province of Milan. Starting from mid 2008, the new factory in Romania for production of original equipment filters will also be operative.

Arriva p.l.c.
In Italy currently Arriva is the leading privately held public transportation operator, present in Northern Italy with SAB of Bergamo, SIA and SAIA of Brescia, SAL of Lecco, KM of Cremona, ASF of Como, SAF of Udine, TT of Trieste, SADEM of Grugliasco (TO) and SAPAV of Pinerolo (TO) for a total of about 2,500 buses.

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Research for improvements in performance of silicon carbide filters

Pirelli Ambiente to develop, with Liqtech's collaboration, a process to produce silicon carbide filters on a wider scale

Milan, 22 January 2007 - Pirelli Ambiente , a company within the Pirelli & C. Group active among other things in the field of technology for sustainable development, and LiqTech A/S , a Danish company with long experience in the sector of silicon carbide (SiC) filters for the retrofit market, have signed a research agreement in the field of SiC Diesel Particulate Filters.

The joint research project between Pirelli Ambiente and LiqTech A/S, which will start at the beginning of 2007, will have the purpose of improving the performance of SiC filters . The results that will be generated by the research project will jointly belong to both companies with the exclusive right of exploitation for Pirelli Ambiente in EU, Russia and the former Soviet Republics , Brazil and China and for Liqtech in USA , Mexico , Canada , South Korea , India and Japan .

According to the agreement, moreover, LiqTech will support Pirelli Ambiente in the development of the technology to produce, on a wider scale, SiC Diesel Particulate Filters for the original equipment market. The results of this development will be Pirelli Ambiente's exclusive property and will be implemented in the plant the company will build in Romania , from January 2007 , for the production of particulate filters for the OEM market. The plant, as already announced, will be operative from the second half of 2008 and will produce over 1,300 tons of SiC filters.

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Pirelli Ambiente is the Pirelli Group company operating in the business of providing solutions for the environment and for sustainable development . Pirelli Ambiente can offer the market a vast range of solutions offering low environmental impact and high-tech contents of the highest order. Thanks to the synergies with Pirelli Labs â€" the Group's centre for advanced research â€" the company can focus unwaveringly on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions. Pirelli Ambiente operates via three companies active in different business areas: Pirelli Ambiente Renewable Energy in the field of energy recovery from waste and renewable sources, Pirelli Ambiente Eco Technology in technologies for sustainable development and Pirelli Ambiente Site Remediation in the environmental remediation sector.

LiqTech A/S , a Danish company specialized in SiC filter production, was founded in 1999 and has been growing fast over the last 4 years selling to the retrofit market in America , Europe and Asia . LiqTech's main competences today are manufacturing honeycomb structures in porous SiC with emphasis on durability, flexibility, cost price and high customer satisfaction .

GROUND LEASE SIGNED TODAY FOR THE AREA WHERE THE STRUCTURE WILL BE BUILT

CONTRUCTION WORK TO BEGIN IN JANUARY 2007 AND LAST FOR 18 MONTHS

THE NEW PLANT WILL BE OPERATIVE FROM THE SECOND HALF OF 2008, WILL PRODUCE MORE THAN 1,300 TONS/YEAR OF FILTERS AND WILL EMPLOY AROUND 400 EMPLOYEES

Milan, 29th November 2006 - Pirelli Ambiente , a company within the Pirelli & C. Group active among other things in the field of technology for sustainable development, today signed in Romania , in the presence of local authorities, the ground lease for the site on which a plant for the production of original equipment particulate filters is due to be built.

The plant, located on a 10-hectare plot within the Gorj Industrial Park in the south-west of Romania , will be operative from the second half of 2008 and will be organized around two production lines . The new factory, whose works will start in January 2007 and will be operative from the second half of 2008, is expected to produce over 1,300 tons of silicon carbide filters annually for the OEM diesel engine market and will lead to the hiring of around 400 employees .

The particulate filters produced by Pirelli Ambienteâ€" already operating in the field of low environmental impact fuels with Gecam™ , the white diesel fuel - are gas emissions treatment systems that can cut diesel-engine particulate emissions by over 90% . The filters are realized in porous silicon carbide, a material that is uniquely resistant to heat and abrupt temperature changes, and can be fitted to diesel engines as original equipment or retrofit components.

Pirelli Ambiente already produces retrofit particulate filters suitable for all diesel engines. Several hundred buses in Italy have been fitted with Pirelli Ambiente filters and applications for earth-moving equipment, heavy transport, diesel trains and electricity generating units are being developed.

Pirelli Ambiente is Pirelli Group's company operating in the business of providing solutions for the environment and for sustainable development. Pirelli Ambiente can offer the market a vast range of solutions offering low environmental impact and high-tech contents of the highest order. Thanks to the synergies with Pirelli Labs - the Group's centre for advanced research - the company can focus unwaveringly on products and processes that are increasingly eco-compatible and on innovative solutions. Pirelli Ambiente operates via three companies active in different business areas: Pirelli Ambiente Renewable Energy in the field of energy recovery from waste and renewable sources, Pirelli Ambiente Eco Technology in technologies for sustainable development and Pirelli Ambiente Site Remediation in the environmental remediation sector. 

GECAM™ EMULSIONED DIESEL FUEL RECOGNISED FOR ITS LOW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND HIGH TECHNOLOGICAL CONTENT

Milan, 25 August 2006 - Pirelli Ambiente Eco Technology , a company within the group active in the field of technology for sustainable development, today received a Special Award for its innovative solutions promoted within the ambit of sustainable transport, in particular the Gecam™ emulsioned diesel fuel, at the 2006 edition of the World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC) , the international conference held in Florence and promoted by the University of Florence and the Centro ABITA (Bioarchitecture and Technological Innovation for the Environment).

In particular, the WREC 2006 International Committee recognised the Gecam™ emulsioned diesel oil's value as a low environmental impact fuel with a high technological content given that its use permits the reduction of the pollutants typical of diesel fuel (fine particulates - with a reduction of over 50% - nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide). The fuel is an emulsion of water (10%) in diesel oil stabilised by a specific combination of additives - patented by the group - that can be used to power heavy vehicles (trucks and buses) and central heating plants. The advantages of the emulsion derive from the presence of the water that ensures more efficient hydrocarbon combustion, thus reducing the formation of particulates as demonstrated by the recent tests (among others) conducted by the ENI Technologies laboratories and by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre at Ispra.

Gecam™ is currently used in place of traditional diesel fuel by over 10,000 heavy vehicles in Italy and France and by over 400 public and private buildings, making a significant contribution to the reduction of pollution by fine particulates in urban areas.
Pirelli Ambiente Eco Technology has also developed innovative particulate filter technology for exhaust gas treatment systems capable of reducing the particulate emissions of diesel engines by over 90%. 

Milan, 13 December 2005 - Pirelli Ambiente Tecnologie , today won the "Environmentally Friendly Innovation Award 2005" for its anti-particulate filter technology , which reduces diesel engine small particle emissions from buses and commercial vehicles by approximately 90% . The prestigious award, presented by environmentalist organization Legambiente and Region of Lombardy , is given each year for innovative technologies, processes, products, services and management systems which generate significant environmental improvements and gives the winner the right to use the award logo for one year.

Pirelli Ambiente's technology was launched in Italy in early 2005 and is already used in several cities. It is based on filters of porous silicon carbide, a material with unique features of resistance to heat and sudden temperature changes.
The material is processed into a honeycomb structure which can filter exhaust gases and capture the particulate matter, mostly carbon particles, they contain.
The system is particularly effective in dealing with fine particles. The use of special fuels additives or catalysts permits the complete combustion of the captured carbon particles (an automatic regeneration process in the filter).

The capability of Pirelli's new filters to significantly reduce particulate emissions from diesel engines has been demonstrated in tests carried out at the ENI Tecnologie laboratories and the Ispra JRC European Commission Research Centre. 

Milan, 1 April 2005 - Pirelli Ambiente , the new Pirelli Group environment centre, has developed an innovative exhaust gases treatment system, capable of reducing diesel engine small particle emissions by approx. 90%. The system, provided with an oxidising catalyst, is also able to reduce unburnt hydrocarbon (-60%) and carbon monoxide emissions (-90%) .

The technology - presented today by the President of Pirelli Group, Marco Tronchetti Provera, during the workshop organised by the Lombardy Regional Authority at "Progetto Città" - is based on porous silicon carbide filters , a material that displays unique features as regards resistance to heat and any sudden changes in temperature. The material is processed so as to form a honeycomb structure, able to filter exhaust gases, capturing the particulate, composed for the most part of carbon particles which are eliminated in the form of carbon dioxide. The system is particularly effective in dealing with fine particles.

The ability of Pirelli's new filters to significantly reduce particulate emissions from diesel engines has been demonstrated by tests carried out by the ENI Tecnologie laboratories and the Ispra JRC Eur opean Commission Research Centre.

In a critical area like Milan , where the amount of particles emitted by heavy vehicles can be as high as 40% (with 3-5% produced by buses) of the total, the use of Pirelli Ambiente filters is potentially capable of generating a reduction of approx. 36% of overall pollution due to particles. It is possible to achieve this result thanks to synergies with Gecam™ emulsified diesel oil, which also makes it possible to use filters on heavy vehicles which have been on the road for more than 10 years, and which are the main cause of pollution. In the heating sector, which in a critical area like Milan accounts for 16% of pollution due to particles, using Gecam™ when it is not possible to use methane permits an emissions reduction of up to 50% with respect to diesel oil.

The combined use of Pirelli Ambiente technologies on heavy vehicles and heating will therefore make it possible to reduce pollution due to fine particles in critical areas by approx. 44% .

Together with Pirelli Ambiente's solutions in reducing atmospheric pollution levels, Marco Tronchetti Provera also presented the latest technological innovation from the Group's research laboratories in the environmental field: semiconductor sensor control units for monitoring air quality.

These innovative systems are able to measure the concentration of pollutant gases in the atmosphere, based on gas semiconductor sensors . The said sensors, with dimensions similar to that of a 10 cent coin , exploit the properties of some oxides, whose electrical conductivity increases in the presence of the gases in question. Pirelli Ambiente's control units, after 18 months of rigorous testing, carried out throughout Italy, including in collaboration with major University research centres, are approx. 3 times smaller and have extremely modest installation and running costs (some 50% less) relative to traditional systems, allowing wireless transmission via GSM (or GPRS) of any data measured.

The new air quality monitoring systems can also be integrated with "intelligent" sensors for measuring traffic intensity. Using a microprocessor, these re-elaborate and transmit data to a data gathering centre. The technology employed in Pirelli Ambiente's sensors is therefore able to provide a detailed picture of city and extra-urban traffic flows and their impact on the quality of the environment.
Pirelli Ambiente's technological solutions portfolio for sustainable development is completed by Fuel from waste, with quality patented by the Group and referred to as Cdr-P which, used in co-combustion in existing facilities (cement factories or thermoelectric stations), makes it possible to achieve urban solid waste energy recovery - encouraging disposal self-sufficiency in those areas involved - together with reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, in compliance with what is set out in the Kyoto Protocol . A study carried out by Istituto di Economia delle Fonti Energetiche (IEFE) at Bocconi University , whose preliminary results have been presented at "Progetto Città", also indicates that the electricity produced using Pirelli Ambiente's solution represents the renewable energy source enjoying the lowest production costs .