A little-known Japanese supplier, Takata, had designed a much cheaper automotive airbag. But when Autoliv’s scientists studied the Takata airbag, they found that it relied on a dangerously volatile compound in its inflater, a critical part that causes the airbag to expand. Her team was told that the Takata inflaters were as much as 30 percent cheaper per module, she added, a potential savings of several dollars per airbag. It was against that difficult backdrop that Takata embraced the cheaper new compound, ammonium nitrate, in its airbag inflaters, according to former employees. “We tore the Takata airbags apart, analyzed all the fuel, identified all the ingredients,” he said.

Source: International New York Times August 26, 2016 10:00 UTC