Another Move in the Right Direction

Volkswagen has taken yet another definitive step towards better climate protection and independence from crude oil. For five years now we are working on ways, how 2nd generation biofuels – we call them SunFuel® - can be produced in a large scale and can be distributed. In collaboration with Daimler AG in Stuttgart, we have now acquired a shareholding in CHOREN Industries, a maker of biofuels based in the State of Saxony. With this move, the eventual introduction of climate-neutral, synthetic diesel fuels made of biomass (Biomass-to-Liquid or BtL fuels; the Volkswagen term is SunDiesel®) is now increasingly coming into view.

“Volkswagen has long called for and endorsed the development and industrial production of 2nd-generation biofuels,” says Dr Wolfgang Steiger, the head of Volkswagen Group Research, Powertrains, “given that they enable as much as three times more yield per hectare of land than 1st-generation biofuels, that they do not stand in competition with food production and that they enable greenhouse gases to be reduced by around 90 per cent. With its financial commitment, Volkswagen is facilitating realisation of the large-scale technical implementation of biogenic synthetic fuels as part of its ‘Driving Ideas’ campaign and is thereby systematically continuing along its course towards achieving more sustainable mobility.“

Volkswagen has long been committed that biofuels should be produced ecologically, economically and socially viable , so that they fit to the 2nd-generation biofuels status. This could be achieved through a system of taxation on biofuels which takes into account both CO2 efficiency as well as sustainability criteria such as the use of fertilisers and pesticides, rainforest conservation, and social standards and employment potential.

Annual production of 200,000 tons planned

CHOREN is one of the leading gasification technology companies for solid biomass and oil-based residue feedstock. The company is currently constructing the world’s first industrial-scale, commercially run BtL demonstration plant. Located in Freiberg, the plant is expected to produce around 15,000 tons of fuel annually from early 2008 onward – enough to satisfy the annual fuel requirements of up to 15,000 motor cars. CHOREN is also planning to build a reference facility in Germany – a so-called Sigma-1 plant – with a production capacity for 200,000 tons per annum. A decision on the location for this plant is expected to be taken by the end of 2007. Sigma facilities can potentially make a substantial contribution towards achievement of the German federal government’s climate-protection targets.

Volkswagen and CHOREN furthermore plan to intensify their collaborations on the development of framework conditions for the sustainable market launch of BtL fuels. “Realisation of the Sigma-1 project, in particular, will require calculable, long-term prospects for the sale of BtL beyond the year 2015,” explains Tom Blades, CHOREN’s CEO, adding that, “Current deliberations surrounding already established technologies which are exclusively CO-based will be inadequate as a basis for launching innovations.”

Volkswagen had already decided back in 2002 to join forces with CHOREN and forge ahead with the development of new fuels. Together with other partners, we took part in a research project for synthetic fuel in which we invested five million euro. In 2003, CHOREN was the first company to manufacture the BtL fuel SunDiesel® outside of the laboratory pilot scale. In 2005, as part of a co-operation agreement, the oil company Shell acquired a minority share in CHOREN. This move paved the way for successful collaboration and construction of the demonstration plant for transformation of biomass to SunDiesel®.

Fuel for a new generation of engines

SunDiesel® is an extremely pure fuel which is completely free of sulphur and aromatic hydrocarbons, it produces an extremely low level of hazardous emissions when combusted and generates exceptionally low levels of CO2. Because it is derived from different forms of biomass, such as straw, wood and energy plants as well as biogenic residues, it presents very little competition to food or animal-feed production. The existing infrastructure can be used for the transportation and storage of SunDiesel®. What’s more, this fuel is fully compatible with both current and future diesel-engine technology.

Synthetic fuels open up thoroughly new prospects for automobile development, given that they allow the engine and fuel to be optimally harmonised. SunDiesel® is designed to support performance and exhaust reduction in the engine. The aim of this research work are engines with a high degree of effectiveness and extremely low emissions which use the CCS® combustion process – a process designed to couple the low-emissions combustion of a petrol engine with the fuel-efficient operation of a diesel engine.