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Filed under: Diesel, Emerging Technologies, Etc.
It's either a visionary look at the future or an early call for help, but Royal Dutch Shell executive Rob Routs today called for the oil and auto industries to cooperate more than they have in the past. As noted in Automotive News (subs req'd), Routs said, "In the future I see [that] the business of making cars and the business of producing energy will be more linked than ever before. ... These [social and environmental] costs are increasingly unaffordable, especially as today's 900 million vehicles might grow to some 1.2 billion three decades from now."
Routs made the comments at the Automotive News Europe's New Powertrain Technologies Conference in Amsterdam. He also said that Shell's gas-to-liquid diesel blends provide a five percent CO2 emission reduction. He didn't say how much CO2 is emitted to make the GTL product compared to making straight diesel.
We'll keep our eye out for more news on Shell's second-generation biofuel that can be made from agricultural waste, straw or wood chips.
Actually, Routs' call is probably neither of the two choices I set up at the beginning of this post. It's more likely just good business strategy.
Related:
- Shell plans to quadruple Canadian oil sands production
- Shell president prefers E85 from biomass waste, not corn
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Filed under: Etc., Green Culture, Transportation Alternatives, Vegetable Oil, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen
The Greaseball Challenge charity car rally is kicking off this week with a launch party on Thursday and to celebrate Emily Horgan and her team have launched the official Greaseball website and blog. Four teams are leaving from Washington, D.C. in two Mercedes, a VW Rabbit and a van while a fifth team departs from Denver, Colorado in a pick-up. Grease for fuel is being supplied this week by the World Bank and the Hard Rock cafe.
One of the entries, Team ZERO, manufactures hydrogen cars in Norway while other nationalities represented in the rally include the U.S., U.K., Belgium, Sweden, and South Africa.
Analysis: It should be a lot of fun to keep up with the Greaseballers' adventures on their way down through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Related:
- Greaseball Challenge charity rally takes biofuel message to Central America
- Interview with Emily Horgan, Director of the Greaseball Challenge
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Click on the photo for a high-res image of the Chevy Trax concept
Next week at the New York Auto Show, General Motors will be unveiling a trio of mini-car concepts, the first of which you can see right here. The Chevrolet Trax is a four door motivated by a 1.0L gas engine with a two-tone paint-scheme reminiscent of the original Honda CR-V. The fenders and bumpers are done with a matte finish, while the rest painted in Blaze Orange. All of the concepts were created by the GM Daewoo studio in South Korea.
The cars sit on top of the global mini vehicle platform that will form the basis of replacements for the Opel Corsa, and other GM small cars and will eventually be available in the US market. After the unveiling, people will have the opportunity to vote for which they think is the best design at www.vote4chevrolet.com. The press release is after the jump.
[Source: General Motors]
Gallery: NY Auto Show: Chevrolet Trax Concept
The Chevrolet Trax is one of three Chevrolet minicar global concepts that General Motors will unveil at the New York International Auto Show on April 4. Designed to appeal to young car buyers in urban markets, these concepts will prove that art needn't take a back seat just because the canvas is small. The highly creative concepts drive the energy, diversity and excitement of urban life into cars that deliver good-looking fun, fuel economy and value.
After the April 4 unveiling, democracy lovers will get the chance to pick their favorite by visiting www.vote4chevrolet.com and cast their vote for the concept they prefer. The results will help Chevy determine U.S. market interest in the minicar segment, and which design resonates best with potential buyers.
All three concepts were designed at GM' s Design Studio in Incheon, South Korea, one of GM's 11 Global Design Studios. Built on GM's global mini architecture, they demonstrate the flexibility, creativity and innovative focus of design in GM's Asia Pacific region.
"These concepts highlight the strength and diversity of GM's Global Design capabilities, as well as the ability of our Global Product Development team to anticipate and quickly meet the evolving needs of our diverse markets around the world," said Ed Welburn, vice president, GM Global Design.
The four-door Trax is powered by a 1-liter gasoline engine. The upper part of the exterior is bathed in Blaze Orange, while lower corner panels sport a Burnt Orange matte finish. The paint combination provides a look that reinforces the notion this Chevrolet is all business despite its small size.
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Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Fiat
The flex-fuel Fiat Uno, made by Fiat Brazil, will be sold in South Africa, where Fiat South Africa will work with local farmers to plant crops to make biofuel, according to a report in the South African newspaper the Weekend Post. A petro-only version will go on sale in July and the flex-fuel version later in the year. The Uno Flex can burn corn- or sugar-based alcohol as well as petrol.Fiat South Africa will work with farmers planting crops in KwaZulu Natal to make biofuels available in South Africa. The Weekend Post says that the South African market is shifting more and more to smaller vehicles
Related:
[Source: Weekend Post via Just Auto (subs req'd)]
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It looks like Audi won't be running away from the American LeMans series just yet. Although, the Ingolstadt automaker has dominated the LMP1 class for several years now, the diesel powered R10 will run at least the rest of the 2007 series. Audi is still not happy about the current rules in ALMS which they say favors the LMP2 cars too much.
Audi Motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich sees the ALMS as a medium for promoting the company's commitment to diesel engines. However, those rules don't seem to have hindered Audi at Sebring. Starting this weekend, the series moves to a run of shorter races, where the diesel won't have as much of an advantage. Hopefully Audi's success will prompt other companies like Peugeot to bring in their diesel engines.
[Source: Speed TV]
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Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Legislation and Policy
In an article that is perfectly designed to elicit lots and lots of discussion (see the dozens of comments following the text), George Mobiot wrote an piece in The Guardian yesterday titled, "If we want to save the planet, we need a five-year freeze on biofuels." Sound intriguing? Read on.Monbiot's criticisms of biofuels and government policies that promote biofuels are as follows:
- "They are a formula for environmental and humanitarian disaster" because they cause "a competition for food between cars and people."
- Certain crop prices (for corn and what) are already increasing rapidly, thanks to ethanol demand.
- The only way farmers can plant enough fuel crops will be "by ploughing virgin habitat."
- Governments like biofuels because they don't really affect drivers. "They appear to reduce the amount of carbon from our cars, without requiring new taxes. It's an illusion sustained by the fact that only the emissions produced at home count towards our national total."
- Planting palm plants for biodiesel causes deforestation, and biodiesel made from palm oil "causes 10 times as much climate change as ordinary diesel."
Monbiot is right that biofuels bring their own heaping problems, especially the current production methods he has the most problems with. But he doesn't mention cellulosic ethanol or the work being done on algae biofuels. These technologies hold a lot of promise, and probably won't cause the same types of environmental destruction that palm biodiesel sometimes does. We should not cut-off these incentives.
The part where I agree with him the most is that the new fuel reality needs to affect drivers (and all of us) directly. Our fuel costs - especially the environmental ones - need to be accurately displayed so we can make the best decisions going forward.
You can read the original article here.
Related:
[Source: The Guardian via Treehugger]
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Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory are investigating up to a 100 different alloys to replace palladium for purifying hydrogeen.
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Columbia, South Columbia might get glimpse into future when it becomes Hydrogen City USA.
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'With the world facing an energy crisis, it is worth exploring all possibilities.'
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