Brunswick, 2006-09-13
Volkswagen Funds Foundation Chair on Biofuels
The Volkswagen Group is providing one million euros to support a new Foundation Chair on Biofuels at Brunswick Technical University.
Prof. Dr Jürgen Hesselbach, Vice-Chancellor of Brunswick Technical University, and Prof. Dr Jürgen Leohold , Head of Group Research at Volkswagen, signed an agreement in Brunswick. “Alternative fuels are a key component of the Volkswagen powertrain strategy. Joint research by industry and the university should establish the foundations for new applications and, thus, their wider distribution,” said Prof. Dr Jürgen Leohold at the signature of the agreement in Brunswick. “Volkswagen and Brunswick Technical University have been cooperating successfully for some considerable time. With this step we are intensifying the link between industry and research in a field that holds out great promise for the future.”
Funding of the chair is planned for five years. The chair’s area of research will include the optimisation of biogenic fuels. Moreover, it is about balancing new regenerative fuels and the opportunities and risks associated with their use. Other partners in this so far unique cooperation are the Federal Research Institute for Agriculture (FAL) and the Association of the German Biofuel Industry, which will fund the Foundation Chair to the tune of € 50,000 per year.
For some time now Volkswagen has been working on concepts for the industrial production of 2nd generation biofuels and has been cooperating closely with other car manufacturers and biotech and oil companies in the development of fuel. The car manufacturer supports the development of promising methods and is already working on appropriate engine systems. Together with CHOREN Industries GmbH and other partners the company developed the fully synthetic diesel SunFuel®. Thanks to the use of biomass, the CO2 cycle can almost completely be closed and an approx. 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gases achieved. As far as petrol engines are concerned, Volkswagen has been cooperating with the Canadian Iogen Corporation, among others, whose method for the manufacture of cellulose ethanol offers a similarly high potential for CO2 reduction.
Second generation biofuels include the synthetic biomass-to-liquid fuel SunFuel and cellulose ethanol, which permit the processing of whole plants and plant residue of many different kinds, e.g. straw. Second generation fuels are on the threshold of commercialisation. Mass production of second generation bioethanol has not yet been economic because of the relatively high cost of manufacturing. In order to still launch these fuels on the market successfully and to initiate cost-reducing further development long-term general conditions need to be created that also make the better CO2 efficiency financially attractive. Volkswagen therefore requires politicians to introduce a sustainable tax model that offers security for investments in the development and market launch of these new fuels. Volkswagen has developed a model of fuel taxation that takes account both of the CO2 efficiency (primary criterion) and sustainability criteria. The criteria can be oriented to fertiliser and herbicide use, protection of rain forest areas as well as social standards, employment potentials and security of supply, for example. Volkswagen is of the opinion that a system of this kind could be used for a European harmonisation of taxation.
Funding of the chair is planned for five years. The chair’s area of research will include the optimisation of biogenic fuels. Moreover, it is about balancing new regenerative fuels and the opportunities and risks associated with their use. Other partners in this so far unique cooperation are the Federal Research Institute for Agriculture (FAL) and the Association of the German Biofuel Industry, which will fund the Foundation Chair to the tune of € 50,000 per year.
For some time now Volkswagen has been working on concepts for the industrial production of 2nd generation biofuels and has been cooperating closely with other car manufacturers and biotech and oil companies in the development of fuel. The car manufacturer supports the development of promising methods and is already working on appropriate engine systems. Together with CHOREN Industries GmbH and other partners the company developed the fully synthetic diesel SunFuel®. Thanks to the use of biomass, the CO2 cycle can almost completely be closed and an approx. 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gases achieved. As far as petrol engines are concerned, Volkswagen has been cooperating with the Canadian Iogen Corporation, among others, whose method for the manufacture of cellulose ethanol offers a similarly high potential for CO2 reduction.
Second generation biofuels include the synthetic biomass-to-liquid fuel SunFuel and cellulose ethanol, which permit the processing of whole plants and plant residue of many different kinds, e.g. straw. Second generation fuels are on the threshold of commercialisation. Mass production of second generation bioethanol has not yet been economic because of the relatively high cost of manufacturing. In order to still launch these fuels on the market successfully and to initiate cost-reducing further development long-term general conditions need to be created that also make the better CO2 efficiency financially attractive. Volkswagen therefore requires politicians to introduce a sustainable tax model that offers security for investments in the development and market launch of these new fuels. Volkswagen has developed a model of fuel taxation that takes account both of the CO2 efficiency (primary criterion) and sustainability criteria. The criteria can be oriented to fertiliser and herbicide use, protection of rain forest areas as well as social standards, employment potentials and security of supply, for example. Volkswagen is of the opinion that a system of this kind could be used for a European harmonisation of taxation.