WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: Following on from our last blog post regarding developments by the gasification technology company, Chemrec, Volvo Trucks made a recent announcement regarding their involvement with Bio-DME. We find their press release most encouraging and include excerpts from it here.
“Volvo Trucks is now taking the next concrete step towards carbon dioxide-neutral road transport. Within the framework of a broad-based joint project, field tests are being conducted with 14 trucks running on Bio-DME – a fuel that combines a low environmental imprint with high energy efficiency.
In August 2007, Volvo Group unveiled seven demo trucks from Volvo Trucks each running on a different type of biofuel, one of which was DME (Di-Methyl-Ether). This initiative demonstrates Volvo has the technical solutions for running an efficient diesel engine on virtually all existing renewable fuels.
Today, in a joint project including the EU, the Swedish Energy Agency, fuel companies, and the transport industry, Volvo Trucks is investigating the potential for large-scale investment in DME produced from biomass, a fuel known as Bio-DME.
Volvo Trucks is participating in the project by contributing 14 Volvo FH trucks that will be tested by selected customers at four locations in different parts of Sweden between 2010 and 2012. The first field-test truck is being shown today in Piteå, where the production of Bio-DME will take place in Chemrec's plant. The Volvo Group, of which Volvo Trucks is a part, is a co-owner of Chemrec via its subsidiary, Volvo Technology Transfer.
From a facility beside the Smurfit Kappa Kraftliner pulp plant, the project will produce four tonnes of Bio-DME per day. The raw material used is black liquor, an energy-rich, highly viscous by-product of the pulp industry. Through gasification of the biomass in the black liquor, what emerges is a particularly clean and energy-efficient fuel. The plant is being inaugurated today by the King of Sweden, renowned for his keen interest in environmental issues.
"From the holistic viewpoint, Bio-DME is one of the most promising second-generation biofuels. Bio-DME provides both high energy efficiency and low emissions of greenhouse gases. We value these two properties particularly highly as we analyse various possible alternative fuels," says Lars Mårtensson, environmental affairs director at Volvo Trucks.
Compared with a conventional engine, Bio-DME as a fuel in diesel engines provides the same high efficiency rating but also a lower noise level. In comparison with diesel fuel, Bio-DME generates 95 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions. What's more, the combustion process produces very low emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides. All this makes Bio-DME an ideal fuel for diesel engines.
The field test gets under way in 2010 and encompasses the entire technological chain from biomass to fuel in trucks, in other words including distribution and filling stations. Fuel company Preem will build filling stations so the trucks can be used in regular regional and local operations. The other companies involved in the project are Chemrec, Delphi, ETC, Haldor Topsoe and Total who are contributing as partners.
Inspections and evaluations of the fuel, truck technology, customer perceptions and distribution system will provide answers as to whether Bio-DME may emerge as one of the fuels that can partially reduce dependence on diesel oil.
The project will continue for a specific period and its evaluation as well as the long-term decisions of the authorities will determine whether full-scale industrial production will become reality. The challenges facing new fuels lie primarily in taking a long-term view, producing sufficiently large quantities of biofuels, and handling distribution via a suitably large number of filling stations.
"The field test will give us valuable new insight into the potential of Bio-DME as a future vehicle fuel. The project still requires many tests, larger-scale fuel production and an extended infrastructure. And, perhaps most of all, clear guidelines from the authorities on how they view the fuel," says Volvo Trucks' President and CEO, Staffan Jufors.”
Click here to see a video about Volvo Trucks and Bio-DME.
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweden. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
BioDME production generously supported in Sweden
WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: In a September 28 release in the Latest News section of its website, gasification technology company Chemrec announced a SEK 500 million (US$73 million) investment grant to Domsjo Fabriker to build an industrial scale, renewable motor fuels BioDME and Biomethanol demonstration plant based on Chemrec technology. Click here to read the full release.
Friday, July 24, 2009
New Swedish investment in hydrogen fuel converters
BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: As reported in The Engineer Online recently, two Swedish organizations - one government, one private - are investing in fuel cell development to the tune of over US$30 million over the next three years.
Specifically, the Swedish Energy Agency and Volvo are jointly investing SEK200m (£15.7m or US$25.7m) in the development of fuel cells, a move that should hopefully create roughly 100 jobs in the Gothenburg region over the next three years.
What's exciting from a Blue Fuel/DME Standpoint is that fuel converters can produce hydrogen gas from DME as well as biogas, methanol, ethanol, biodiesel, and also from regular diesel or petrol. The PEM fuel cell then converts the hydrogen gas into electricity. Per Wassén, investment director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden said that "This is truly a major step in the development of fuel cells.’
To accelerate the introduction of fuel cells into the market, the Volvo Group, through Volvo Technology Transfer, will receive investment from Midroc New Technology and OCAS, as well as from the Swedish Energy Agency.
Powercell Sweden is founded on two patented components: a fuel converter (reformer) and a PEM fuel cell, which is the type of fuel cell most often used in transport applications.
"Thanks to our reformer technology we are now ready to start our production without having to wait for an infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen gas,"’ said Wassén.
Specifically, the Swedish Energy Agency and Volvo are jointly investing SEK200m (£15.7m or US$25.7m) in the development of fuel cells, a move that should hopefully create roughly 100 jobs in the Gothenburg region over the next three years.
What's exciting from a Blue Fuel/DME Standpoint is that fuel converters can produce hydrogen gas from DME as well as biogas, methanol, ethanol, biodiesel, and also from regular diesel or petrol. The PEM fuel cell then converts the hydrogen gas into electricity. Per Wassén, investment director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden said that "This is truly a major step in the development of fuel cells.’
To accelerate the introduction of fuel cells into the market, the Volvo Group, through Volvo Technology Transfer, will receive investment from Midroc New Technology and OCAS, as well as from the Swedish Energy Agency.
Powercell Sweden is founded on two patented components: a fuel converter (reformer) and a PEM fuel cell, which is the type of fuel cell most often used in transport applications.
"Thanks to our reformer technology we are now ready to start our production without having to wait for an infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen gas,"’ said Wassén.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Växjö: Europe's greenest city
BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: Located in southern Sweden and with a population of about 80,000, Växjö bills itself as The Greenest City in Europe. Inspired by the Agenda 21 document signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, Växjö adopted its first environmental policy in 1993, which was superseded in 1999 by The Environmental Programme for the City of Växjö. The Environmental Programme has three profile areas, each with its own guiding vision:
LIVING LIFE: “In Växjö, we have the vision that we will live and act so as to contribute to sustainable development where our consumption and production are resource-effective and pollution free.”
OUR NATURE: “ We have the vision that clean water, fresh air and a diverse natural and cultural environment, with a rich biological diversity will characterize the town, and the urban and rural areas of the municipality.”
FOSSIL FUEL FREE VAXJO: “We have the vision of a fossil fuel free Växjö, where our energy consumption does not lead to any climate change.”
The profile area most germane to Blue Fuel/DME, of course, is “Fossil Fuel Free Växjö”. The city first adopted this concept in 1996 and has kept it as a key component of its current Environmental Programme. The goal is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide 50% by 2010 and 70% by 2025 over 1993 levels. As of 2007, the city had been successful in reducing emissions by 32%. The majority of those reductions were due to the use of biomass for heating, with almost 90% of the heating fuel coming from renewable energy sources.
The transportation sector is the source of most of the remaining emissions. One strategy for reducing transportation emissions is to develop a large-scale bio-DME production plant to provide a carbon-neutral vehicle fuel. In 2003 Växjö University established a center for biomass gasification and the city is currently participating in the Bio-DME Project, which for 2009 includes construction of a DME filling station to perfect DME infrastructure and ongoing testing of a small fleet of DME vehicles.
In 2007 Växjö received the Sustainable Energy Europe Award in recognition of its environmental efforts. This small Swedish city is a great role model that deserves to be emulated throughout the world. For more information about this innovative city, please check out its website.
LIVING LIFE: “In Växjö, we have the vision that we will live and act so as to contribute to sustainable development where our consumption and production are resource-effective and pollution free.”
OUR NATURE: “ We have the vision that clean water, fresh air and a diverse natural and cultural environment, with a rich biological diversity will characterize the town, and the urban and rural areas of the municipality.”
FOSSIL FUEL FREE VAXJO: “We have the vision of a fossil fuel free Växjö, where our energy consumption does not lead to any climate change.”
The profile area most germane to Blue Fuel/DME, of course, is “Fossil Fuel Free Växjö”. The city first adopted this concept in 1996 and has kept it as a key component of its current Environmental Programme. The goal is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide 50% by 2010 and 70% by 2025 over 1993 levels. As of 2007, the city had been successful in reducing emissions by 32%. The majority of those reductions were due to the use of biomass for heating, with almost 90% of the heating fuel coming from renewable energy sources.
The transportation sector is the source of most of the remaining emissions. One strategy for reducing transportation emissions is to develop a large-scale bio-DME production plant to provide a carbon-neutral vehicle fuel. In 2003 Växjö University established a center for biomass gasification and the city is currently participating in the Bio-DME Project, which for 2009 includes construction of a DME filling station to perfect DME infrastructure and ongoing testing of a small fleet of DME vehicles.
In 2007 Växjö received the Sustainable Energy Europe Award in recognition of its environmental efforts. This small Swedish city is a great role model that deserves to be emulated throughout the world. For more information about this innovative city, please check out its website.
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