When it comes to the U.S. biofuels strategy, it's no longer just about ethanol.
The Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture announced on Friday that $564 million in stimulus act funding would be used toward constructing biorefineries to make liquid fuels from plants. Out of the 19 projects receiving funding, nearly half focus on the development of "drop-in" replacements for gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel. The rest focus on technologies for making ethanol or chemicals from sources other than corn. (Click this PDF for a full list of recipient projects).
Green crude from algae
(Credit: Sapphire Energy)In one example, San Diego-based Sapphire Energy, which counts Bill Gates as an investor, received a $54.5 million loan guarantee to build a pilot facility to convert algae into "green crude" that can replace jet fuel and diesel.
These fuels are the chemical equivalents of petroleum-based gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel so they can fit into the existing distribution fuels infrastructure, backers say.
The Energy Department-funded projects, which will be matched with private money for a total of $1.3 billion, are meant to test a number of biofuels techniques at demonstration scale. Chemical and energy company UOP, for example, received a total of $31.7 million to make a renewable diesel and jet fuel from wood wastes by treating biofeedstocks with hydrogen during its process.
Different methods to produce ethanol will also be tested through the Energy Department program. In the 2007 Energy Act, the federal government set an aggressive goal for production of advanced biofuels made from plants other than corn, such as agricultural residue and wood.
Algenol Biofuels received almost $59 million in total to produce ethanol from seawater algae and carbon dioxide in Freeport, Texas. Cellulosic-ethanol company ZeaChem, meanwhile, received $25 million from the Energy Department to supplement a planned project to make ethanol from poplar trees in Oregon using a microbe that breaks down wood. And waste-to-fuel companies BlueFire Ethanol and Enerkem received grants for their gasification-based systems for converting municipal solid waste into ethanol.
In a statement, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said advanced biofuels are a key part of the country's goal to create a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system and generate jobs.
In a statement, the Biotechnology Industry Organization said the government funding will help innovative companies attract capital from private sources to commercialize their technology.
BEIJING--Lorry driver Zhang Jianwei isn't worried about cleaner fuel requirements that come into force in China next year, raising the price of motor fuels--he will just keep buying cheaper, dirtier diesel at smaller stations.
Zhang's example underscores the cautious approach the world's second largest oil consumer is taking to introducing tougher diesel and gasoline specifications, and shows why there will be little initial impact on China's fuel trade.
Motorists across China will switch to 150 parts-per-million (ppm) sulphur gasoline from January 1, 2010, from 500 ppm, and a lower content of benzene, a carcinogen, three years after the specifications were first announced.
The changes, a hard sell to motorists already facing record pump prices, won't bring China's fuel standards into line with even stricter Western market benchmarks, tempering the risk of Asia's leading gasoline seller flooding export markets with still more fuel.
"It will not allow them to break into advanced markets yet, but I don't think they aimed for that anyway," said Al Troner, managing director of AP Energy Consulting, and an expert on Asian fuel specifications.
But its start to move Chinese oil firms beyond their traditional role of being self-sufficient toward being more like aggressive exporters in South Korea and more recently, India. For example, 150-ppm gasoline will probably help boost Chinese sales into Australia, which uses a similar grade.
Also from January 1, China is launching automotive diesel with a sulphur content of 350 ppm, to differentiate from the 2,000-ppm general diesel used by its vast rural and industrial sectors. However an 18-month "transitional" period is allowed before the specification becomes mandatory.
One significant change in diesel quality is the cap on polyaromatics, a main contributor to urban smog. That requires refiners to use costly hydrocracking and hydrotreating units, instead of traditional catalytic crackers.
Oil duopoly Sinopec and PetroChina have in the past decade or so been spending heavily on units that strip sulphur and crack heavy residues into motor fuels, as China imports a growing share of sour and heavy crude oil.
The new specs mean the cost of fuel is set to rise further, a challenge for refiners like Sinopec to pass on to Chinese drivers already paying record pump prices.
"It's Sinopec's chance to showcase our strength in technology. But as it costs to build and run hydrocrackers to meet the specs, we will expect a premium price for premium quality," Sinopec's spokesman, Huang Wensheng, said.
The diesel factor
The formal introduction of automotive diesel specs highlights the oil industry's focus on meeting the rapid growth in road freight traffic in an economy that is heavy on manufacturing and as the country swiftly expands its highway networks.
China's demand for automotive diesel overtook gasoline in absolute volumes a couple of years ago, and is poised for strong growth in the coming years, analysts said.
Automotive diesel now makes up more than half of China's total diesel use of some 3 million barrels per day, against a third previously.
"The improvement in auto diesel standards in the past has been slowed in part because of China's massive use of rural diesel by tractors. Auto diesel is growing rapidly," said Lu Changjiang, Sinopec's fuel quality and efficiency chief.
China's environmental watchdog wants to fast track the more stringent standards, and Sinopec says it has the technical ability to produce Euro V motor fuels with sulphur content of 10 ppm and steeper cuts in polyaromatics.
"We're aiming to catch up with European standards (V) by around 2015/2016," said Tang Dagang, head of vehicle emissions control of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, adding that mationwide specifications for 50-ppm gasoline, already in use in Beijing and Shanghai, are expected to be announced soon.
For the country's swelling fleet of private car owners--car sales in China recently passed those in America to make it the world's top market--the mandatory shift to cleaner petrol of 150 ppm will put China in the league of clean fuel markets like Japan and Australia.
And the cut to 1 percent from 2.5 percent of benzene places China at the top of the moderately high quality ranks, said AP Energy's Troner.
But both the government and oil firms will need to gauge if users like lorry driver Zhang are going to pay up, after a doubling of prices in the past five years and a dwindling of China's exports, which has heightened competition among truckers.
To cut the bills for his 1,000-liter tank, Zhang says he may stop more often at gas stations near his mountainous hometown in Fujian, where cheaper and lower-grade fuels are popular, before hitting the 4-lane interprovincial highways dotted by petrol outlets run by state giants Sinopec and PetroChina.
"If it can save me 300 to 400 yuan ($45 to $60) per trip, I will not hesitate to refuel at the smaller stations," said Zhang.
Story Copyright (c) 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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Direct Methanol Fuel Cell has licensed a patent from CalTech to build methanol-based gadget chargers, a week after Toshiba took the wraps off its own portable fuel cell.
The patent will allow Direct Methanol Fuel Cell to design smaller portable charging packages for devices, such as mobile phones, said Viaspace, the parent company of Direct Methanol Fuel Cell. The company said Monday it has a partnership with Samsung and others to commercialize methanol fuel cartridges.
Toshiba introduced a methanol fuel-cell charger for Japan last week.
(Credit: Toshiba)A direct methanol fuel cell converts the liquid fuel methanol into electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen and methanol. It's a technology that a number of electronics companies are looking at to extend the life of power-hungry devices, such as laptops and mobile phones.
Last week, Toshiba unveiled the Dynario, an external charging device which is now available in Japan at a cost of about $325. The company has not said if it has plans to introduce the methanol fuel cell in other countries.
The Dynario can store enough energy to charge about two mobile phones and it uses an embedded lithium ion battery to store electricity.
The auto industry should stop selling its most gas-guzzling vans and minibuses in the European Union by 2016 or face fines, the EU's executive arm said on Wednesday.
The deadline would be four years later than first envisaged after powerful automakers pushed hard for a delay until the EU's 27 member states have recovered from the economic crisis.
Average carbon emissions for each van would have to be cut by 14 percent between 2014 and 2016 to 175 grams for every kilometer driven, compared to an EU average of 203 grams today, the European Commission said.
By 2020, van makers would have to hit a target of 135 grams.
The launch of the proposal was delayed several times in recent weeks as officials in the Commission's industry and environment units wrangled over the details.
Europe's big auto-making nations--France, Italy, and Germany--had pushed the Commission for a delay to 2017.
Van makers that overshoot the targets face fines.
In an initial period until 2018, the penalty will be 5 euros ($7.40) per van for each gram in excess, 15 euros for the second gram, 25 for the third, and 120 for every further gram exceeding the limit.
From 2019, the first gram will cost 120 euros per vehicle.
(Reporting by Pete Harrison, editing by Timothy Heritage and Dale Hudson)
Story Copyright (c) 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--If you want to find out about the cutting edge in green automotive technology, talk to fleet managers.
Although they may have a reputation for stodginess, operators of corporate and municipal fleets are pushing the limits of alternative fuels in both passenger cars and trucks. These projects are driven both by environmental programs and fuel savings, according to attendees at the AltWheels 2009 Fleet Day conference here on Monday.
In the past year, new products, notably hybrid and all-electric commercial trucks, are coming to market. Also, the confidence level in the various alternative energy technologies is firmer, speakers said.
"This is not toy science anymore. This is real utility," said Mike Payette, the fleet equipment manager for Staples, which hosted the event at its corporate headquarters. "It's working exactly as this technology is supposed to work."
Staples has just received hybrid and all-electric delivery trucks made by Smith Electric Vehicles which it will begin testing. The stop-and-go traffic of delivery trucks is well suited to hybrid and electric technology as the trucks can charge batteries during braking.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)Fleet managers said that the use of hybrid sedans and SUVs has been picking up for salaried employees, such as salespeople or police and fire workers. New York City, for example, has bought more than 3,000 hybrids--Toyota Priuses and Nissan Altimas--since 2001 as part of an effort to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions, said Steve Weir, director in the Office of Fleet Administration.
Now, hybrids are being scaled up for bigger jobs. Staples recently received hybrid and all-electric delivery trucks from Smith Electric Vehicles that it will test in different locations. The initial cost is higher--partially offset by government stimulus spending--but Payette estimates that operating the electric and hybrid delivery trucks will cost about half as much as their diesel equivalents.
From a technology point of view, hybrids and battery-electric vehicles are well suited for deliveries, since the stop-and-go nature of the driving allows the trucks to recharge the batteries during braking. Also, the length of trips is well understood, whereas consumers will typically do a mix of driving, including long trips.
But that doesn't mean that electric or hybrid vehicles make sense in every application, said attendees, who are using propane, natural gas, and biodiesel. Fleet managers need to also consider the driving range--Staples' electric delivery truck can go between 100 and 120 miles--as well as the weight of what's being transported.
"The question is not whether it will work, it's whether it will work for me--that's what's different," said Stephen Connors from the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's all about the drive cycle."
In many cases, in-car technology and programs to promote environmentally aware driving can deliver significant fuel savings, attendees said. The City of Keene, N.H., delivered monthly reports on fuel usage and mileage to department heads in an effort to encourage fuel efficiency habits, such as cutting idling. But far more effective are mechanical systems that enforce driver behavior, said Steve Russell, the former fleet superintendent.
For example, Staples changed the top speed of its Isuzu delivery trucks to 60 miles per hour and installed a system that automatically shuts trucks off after three minutes of idling. Those adjustments showed fuel savings between 4.3 percent and 5 percent on 75 vehicles, according to Payette.
Other fleets are simply converting to four-cylinder vehicles, at times adding more amenities to motivate employees to convert. Heating and cooling equipment company Carrier was able to meet its emissions-reduction goals by choosing a different size vehicle and reducing the weight of deliveries, said purchasing manager Denise Cross.
Business case
Conference speakers said that many efforts to make their fleets more environmentally friendly were driven by corporate environmental sustainability efforts, which can help improve a company's image. But at the same time, there is scrutiny on the financial implications of using hybrids or biofuels, for example.
"We were in a state of flux last year: 'is this going to work?' This year, we're able to put vehicles in place and say that there are lower emissions overall--so we have proof," said Tom Hartner, the manager of global sourcing at Millipore. "Now we're trying to make sure we can deliver at a lower cost--that's where we're going."
Often, the financial picture includes the cost of vehicles, the cost of fuels--biodiesel or natural gas, for example--and ongoing maintenance and infrastructure costs. Staples is projecting that it will be able to get its hybrid and electric trucks competitive on price compared to diesel after funding for the government-aided project runs out, said Payette. "I don't want to be the greenest company to go out of business," he said.
In many cases, corporations don't get federal tax incentives for hybrid passenger cars. But there is federal stimulus money available for projects to test and ramp up production of components for plug-in electric vehicles. For example, a number of utilities are testing how plug-in electric vehicles can fit into smart-grid projects, where cars are charged at off-peak times and act to stabilize power grid frequency.
MIT's Connors said that one of the underlying questions with green auto technologies is what will happen after the stimulus funding ends--and whether these projects will continue if oil prices drop significantly. But corporations and auto suppliers need to go through the trial programs to test various technologies and help bring down the cost of components, he said.
Staples' Payette said he expects the cost of battery and electric motors for vehicles to drop 40 percent as volumes ramp up. Although there isn't a widespread refueling infrastructure, biofuels and natural gas look promising as well, he said.
Solar power, it turns out, can mean more than just clean electrons and home hot water systems.
Chevron on Friday disclosed plans to use solar thermal technology from BrightSource Energy to enhance oil recovery from an aging well in central California.
BrightSource Energy's demonstration facility in Israel's Negev Desert, where an array of heliostats, or moving mirrors, concentrate light onto a tower to make steam.
(Credit: BrightSource Energy)The system will use 7,000 mirrors on Chevron-owned land to reflect light onto a tower to make steam. The steam will be pumped underground to heat up heavy oils and make them easier to extract, according to a Reuters report. Right now, Chevron uses natural gas to make steam.
Concentrating solar power has emerged as one of the most cost-effective solar technologies for utility-scale solar projects. Using mirrors or reflective troughs, sunlight from desert areas is concentrated onto a liquid that makes steam. In a power plant, that steam turns a turbine to make electricity.
Production on the plant in Coalinga, Calif., is slated to begin by the end of 2010, Chevron executives told Reuters. Chevron Technology Ventures, the company's venture arm, is an investor in BrightSource Energy.
BrightSource Energy's main business continues to be utility-scale solar. But another young solar company, Ausra, shifted its focus from building solar power plants to using its solar thermal technology to make a system for different industrial processes.
WARREN, Mich.--General Motors' announcement on Tuesday that it expects that the Chevy Volt will get an eye-popping 230 miles per gallon begs an obvious question: how can the mileage of electric vehicles be compared to gasoline cars?
It's a problem that the Environmental Protection Agency is working on with the Department of Energy, the Society of Auto Engineers, and California, an EPA representative said on Wednesday. But that system for testing mileage is still in development and not yet public.
The EPA also put out a statement on Tuesday saying that it has not tested the Volt for mileage yet and "cannot confirm the economy values claimed by GM." GM said that its mileage estimate, including triple digit combined city and highway driving, was based on a draft methodology developed by the EPA.
The lack of verifiable tests, however, hasn't stopped automakers from tantalizing consumers. The all-electric Nissan Leaf, due in late 2010, boasts the equivalent of 367 miles per gallon, and the electric Tesla Roadster claimed over 100 miles per gallon mileage as well.
Pressed on how mileage numbers for the Volt were arrived at, GM executives offered some details, saying that the number will vary depending on how far people drive before they replenish the car's batteries.
"I'm confident that we will be in triple digits" with Chevy Volt mileage, said GM CEO Fritz Henderson at a press conference on Tuesday.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)The draft EPA methodology figures that a plug-in electric vehicle driver will go a certain number of miles on batteries alone and then another portion on the gasoline engine, explained Frank Weber, the global vehicle line executive for the Chevy Volt. To arrive at the mix between battery versus gasoline, the EPA is studying average American driving patterns, executives said.
The EPA is also developing another, less familiar metric for electric vehicles. In the Volt's case, it will take 25 kilowatt-hours to go 100 miles. Weber said the models behind the EPA methodology are "robust," adding that he expects the EPA to disclose more about the tests later this year.
To come up with 230 miles per gallon for city driving, GM assumes that Volt owners charge the car's batteries once a day, which enables them to do the majority of their driving from electricity drawn from the socket. The Volt, due late next year, is designed to run 40 miles on electric charge and then use a gasoline engine to sustain the battery for longer trips.
Misleading?
Triple digit combined fuel efficiency is certainly impressive--the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids both sport combined mileage of about 50 miles per gallon depending on driving style.
But immediately after GM's announcement, people began complaining that the claim is misleading.
... Read more
WARREN, Mich.--For all the attention on the electric Chevy Volt, General Motors has big expectations for another key car segment: small cars.
The auto giant opened up its design studios and testing grounds to the media on Tuesday to showcase its product pipeline of 25 new models over the coming two years. Having dramatically cut costs, its turnaround now rides on its ability to sell new cars.
Certainly, GM will continue to sell SUVs, trucks, and large sedans--highly profitable product categories that flourished when gasoline was cheaper than now. But GM's designers have sharpened their focus on smaller fuel-efficient cars and crossovers, betting that rising gasoline prices are inevitable.
"The days when we did a great Silverado (pickup truck) and did an adequate small car--over. We can't do that as a company," CEO Fritz Henderson said during a press conference on Tuesday. "If we do (small cars) well, I think we'll reopen ourselves to a market that frankly we haven't done as well as we should."
The Chevy Spark, one of GM's upcoming 'small and cool' cars.
(Credit: General Motors)The smaller cars--none would qualify as a tiny, two-seater--will help the company meet fleet mileage mandates and help GM better compete on fuel efficiency, company executives and analysts said.
But GM's vice president of global design, Ed Welburn, made clear that the goal isn't just to turn out "econoboxes" that post good mileage ratings.
"Cool and small is the next big thing," said Welburn said. "Small cars have been done before but it was always like, 'I can't afford big so I have this.' I believe small cars can be cool."
Higher gasoline prices
During a tour of GM's design studios on Tuesday, company executives showed the compact cars and smaller crossovers in its pipeline. Later this year, GM will release the Chevrolet Cruze, a four-door compact, and introduce a two-door compact, the Chevy Spark, in 2012.
Although the Chevrolet entry-level brand will tend to have most of its compacts, even its higher-end brands--Buick, GMC, and Cadillac--will introduce or are exploring smaller models.
On Tuesday, Welburn took the wraps off an entry-level Cadillac. Even designers at its GMC brand, known for its giant SUVs and trucks, have created a model of a compact, which roughly resembles a Nissan Cube.
Meanwhile, its Buick lineup will feature a smaller crossover, a new compact sedan, and a plug-in hybrid crossover, which will all be available over the next two years.
GM has been able to get substantially better fuel efficiency on its large vehicles, too, noted Dennis Virag, the president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Chevy Equinox, for example, gets about 32 miles per gallon while most SUVs get about 20 or 22, he said.
"The whole trend in the industry is towards smaller and fuel-efficient vehicles but the consumer still wants the amenities," Virag said.
Henderson said that GM is seeking to meet or exceed the industry benchmark on fuel efficiency not only to meet government mandates but to appeal to consumers who expect gasoline prices to continue going up.
"Our fundamental premise of planning for higher gas prices is the right premise," he said.
Corrected at 9:17 a.m. PDT: The name of the maker of the Cube was incorrect. It is Nissan.
WARREN, Mich.--The gas-electric Chevy Volt will get triple-digit mileage, including an estimated 230 mpg for city driving, General Motors said Tuesday.
The 230 mpg--teased in a stealth advertising campaign on billboards and during baseball games--is based on a draft methodology for electric vehicles developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, GM CEO Fritz Henderson said here.
The struggling auto giant held a media event to offer an update on its product and technology plans as it tries to stimulate sales following a bankruptcy and restructuring that has left it 60 percent owned by the U.S. Treasury Department and 11 percent owned by Canada.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson at company's Tech Center in Warren, Mich.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)Henderson said that GM is confident that the combined highway and city mileage for the Chevy Volt, due to go on sale in late 2010, will be in the triple digits. Expressed in electrical terms, the performance will be 25 kilowatt-hours for 100 miles.
"Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy, we believe, will be a game changer for us," Henderson said.
Other plug-in electric sedans are also expected to have triple-digit fuel efficiency once they come to market. The all-electric Tesla Motors' Roadster, which is available now, advertises triple-digit fuel economy as well.
The EPA model is being developed for cars used in different climates and a mix of electric and gas driving conditions, GM executives said. City mileage will be better for the Volt because the extended-range electric power train runs for 40 miles on battery alone and then uses an internal combustion engine to recharge batteries.
The cost of fueling a Volt will be significantly less than gassing up at the pump, Henderson said. In Detroit, where off-peak electricity rates are 5 cents a kilowatt hours, it will cost about 40 cents to recharge batteries overnight.
On the cost of the car itself, Henderson said that GM has not priced the Volt but that it will be expensive because it is a first-generation product. Unconfirmed estimates are said to be around $40,000.
The car will qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit and GM is working on bringing down the cost of future generations of the Volt, particularly the battery system, he said.
Congress is seeking to maintain funding for fuel cell vehicle research, rebuffing the Department of Energy's proposal to cut $100 million in funding.
The Appropriations committees from the House and Senate earlier this month published budgets that have significant sums devoted to hydrogen research and specifically for fuel cell vehicles.
The House plan calls for $40 million in research through the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies program and the Senate plan would provide $190 million to various hydrogen technologies, according to Environment & Energy Daily. (Click for PDFs of House appropriations and Senate appropriations.)
In May the Department of Energy proposed slashing fuel cell vehicle research by about 60 percent, which would have been a cut of about $100 million. At the time, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that after years of research, hydrogen-fueled cars were still years away from commercial viability.
"We asked ourselves, 'Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?' The answer, we felt, was 'no,'" Chu said in May.
That proposal was criticized by hydrogen industry trade groups, arguing that fuel cells have a role among other power train technologies.
All the major automakers have fuel cell vehicle programs with small numbers of cars leased to consumers for testing. Although these cars are available, they can only be fueled in the few locations that have hydrogen filling stations.
In addition to the lack of distribution infrastructure, storage of hydrogen remains a technical challenge. Hydrogen also has to be produced from other sources, such as natural gas.
The House Energy and Water appropriations, which includes Energy Department funding for 2010, passed on Friday with $45 million for "hydrogen vehicle technologies" added to the $40 million the appropriations committee had originally called for, according to the National Hydrogen Association.
Robert Rose, executive director of the United States Fuel Cell Council, told The New York Times that he hopes a vote on the Senate appropriations bill comes before the August recess.
