It’s getting going

Mobility has come one step closer to sustainability and the goal of becoming independent from crude oil. The Shell mineral oil company and the East German technology company, Choren Industries, have closed a deal to build two new plants to manufacture SunFuel. This is seen as a milestone in the industry for the breakthrough of regenerative synthetic fuels which are not based on mineral oil but on biomass. By 2007, a test plant will be built in Freiberg, Saxony, which will be able to produce an annual 15,000 tons of the synthetic fuel out of biomass. Shell, which has acquired shares in Choren, wants to take over the marketing of the entire annual production. The fuel can be used in any diesel engine.

According to Choren and providing the pilot plant is a success, a further plant is planned in Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, to be completed by 2009. This will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons. The plant, on the site of a former East German power plant near Greifswald, will create up to 150 new jobs and there are talks concerning a total of 400 million euros investments for developing SunFuel production. It is still not certain what the extent of state funding for the projects will be.

Ideal symbiosis of two experts

It is planned to initially mix the fuel from Shell and Choren, also known as “SunDiesel”, with other diesel forms. In comparison to the current annual consumption of 50 million tons of diesel and petrol in Germany, the stated production amount is relatively small. Yet the first decisive step towards increasingly using biomass for fuel production has been made. The fuel strategy of the federal government, which is also similar to that of Volkswagen in many essential points, also sees a special potential in the use of biomass for fuel production. Biomass should make a considerable contribution in meeting the directives of the federal government and the European Union (EU) by 2010 – a 5.75 per cent share of renewable fuels should be available on the market. Currently, there is only a one to two percent share of bio diesels mixed with standard diesel in Germany.

Choren is a leader in the field of converting biomass to syntheses gas which is a basis for synthetic fuels. With its patented Carbo-V process, Choren converts biomass to a highly pure, syntheses gas which is free of tar and low in methane. This gas is then developed further with the Fischer-Tropsch process developed by Shell (a catalytic process to convert natural gas to synthetic oil products) to synthetic biofuel BtL (Biomass to Liquids). Shell is a leader in the field of GtL technology (Gas to liquids) and has a wealth of expertise in the first major industrially used GtL plant in Bintulu, Malaysia. GtL is an important part of the Shell-V-Power-Diesel fuel which is already being sold at select Shell stations.

SunFuel enables totally new engines

“The bringing together of the technologies and experiences of both companies makes the construction and operation of the first BtL medium-sized plant possible. This plant will pave the way for economically attractive bigger plants,” says Rob Routs, Director of Royal Dutch Shell. Tom Blades, Managing Director of Choren, adds: “We are very pleased at having gained Shell, which has a great deal of experience in the Fischer-Tropsch process as well as in the production and use of extremely clean fuels, as a partner. Choren’s vision to manufacture synthetic biofuels on an industrial scale which meet the needs of the mobile society of today and the future without damaging the environment, endorses this.”

Volkswagen, which has been working on its fuel and power strategy already since 2000, has a keen interest in the development of synthetic fuels. Whilst engines have to be adapted to the properties of standard fuels, precisely the reverse is the case with GtL and BtL. Engine builders can give the manufacturers specifications. This leads to new engine performance capabilities and considerably less pollutant emissions. Synthetic fuels are free of sulphur and aromatic compounds whereby combustion is, in comparison to standard diesel, significantly cleaner. Gained from biomass, they are also almost climate neutral. The greenhouse gas emissions are 90 per cent less than fossil fuel emissions. Volkswagen has said it will supply its new diesel vehicles with a full tank of SunFuel after the plant has been completed.