Carbon dioxide-neutral heavy vehicles
Rolf Willkrans, Director Environmental Affairs Volvo Group Headquarters, Göteborg
Business Areas
Volvo Aero
Buses
Construction Equipment Volvo Penta Financial Services
BA Asia Incl. Nissan Diesel
Mack Trucks Renault Trucks Volvo Trucks
Why we need CO
2-neutral transport
• Climate change
• Oil production approaching peak
• Political uncertainty
• Customer demand
Demand for CO
2-neutral commercial transport solutions can develop rapidly
• Fuel cost for the operator is often high, 20-35 % of total operating cost
• But, fuel cost for consumer goods is often less than 3% of the retail price. Many customers will be willing to pay something extra to get
“CO2-neutral” products. Example:
– Assume an increased fuel price by 1 Euro per litre
– That would add approx 2 Euro cent per package of Strawberries transported 3 000 km by a truck
– The customer would have to pay say 3.02 Euro instead of 3.00 Euro
• CO2-neutral transport will for many consumer products add more value than cost!
The diesel engine – highly efficient technology
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 -37%
Liters / 100 km -15%
Reduced fuel consumption for heavy vehicles (FH12, 40 tons)
Source: Volvo Trucks
The diesel engine has great potential
Consensus and international decisions are essential
• Fuels
• Standards
• Supply
The technology exists – but we need the fuels
Seven CO
2-neutral alternatives
Liquid fuels
Biodiesel – From vegetable oils
Synthetic diesel – Gasification of biomass
Methanol/Ethanol – Methanol via gasification and ethanol via fermentation of biomass
Combination
Biogas + Biodiesel – Dual-fuel technology permits use of biogas in a diesel engine
Gaseous fuels
DME – Dimethylether – Gasification of biomass
Biogas – Anaerobic digestion of biomass
Hydrogen + Biogas – 8% hydrogen gas, electrolysis of water using renewable electricity
From raw material to fuel
Rapeseed Sunflower
Wheat Sugar beet Straw
Waste wood Farmed wood
Organic waste Sewage
Manure
Rapeseed oil Sunflower oil
Esterification
Hydrolysis
and fermentation
Gasification
Anaerobic digestion
Biodiesel
Ethanol
Hydrogen Dimethylether Methanol
Synthetic diesel Biogas
Feedstock Process Fuel
Seven criteria
1. Climate impact 2. Energy efficiency 3. Land use efficiency 4. Fuel potential
5. Vehicle adaptation 6. Fuel cost
7. Fuel infrastructure
Climate impact
– from “well-to-wheel”
• Emissions of carbon dioxide for the entire chain, based on the
“well-to-wheel” principle
• Fuels manufacturered via gasification have the lowest impact
• Ethanol (Generation 1) and biodiesel have the highest impact
Climate impact
Foss il die
sel Biodies
el
Synth eticdies
el
–Dime thylether
Meth anol
Eth
anol Bioga s
Bioga s+biodi
ese l
Hydrogen+bio gas 110
120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
25 23 23
11 22 11
3 3
54 63 100
Index
Best case Worst case
8 8
5 5 7
Energy efficiency
– from “well-to-wheel”
• Energy efficiency based on the
“well-to-wheel” principle is a measure of the proportion of energy reaching the vehicle’s driven wheels
• Energy-rich byproducts are included
• Methanol and DME produced by gasification of black liquor are rated highest
Energy efficiency (Well-to-wheel)
Biodies el
Synth etic dies
el
–Dime thylether
Meth anol
Eth
anol Bioga s
ioga s+biodi
ese l
drogen+bio gas Fossil diesel efficiency
is approximately 35%
Efficiency
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
18%19% 19%
21% 20%
26%
19%
25%
13%
18% 18%18%
21%21%
19%19%
Best case Worst case
Fuel cost
• Includes all costs except taxes
– Raw material, production, transport, and infrastructure costs
• Overall, major differences depending on the raw material and production process
• Methanol and DME via gasification of black liquor is competitive today
Fuel cost relative to fossil diesel
Cost of fossil diesel estimated at SEK 4 140%
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
-20%
-40%
Cost increase
46%51%
35%
128%
68%
-24% -27%
60%
34%
124%
25%
68%
55%
110%
25%
68%
Biodies el
Synth etic dies
el
–Dime thylether
Meth anol
Eth
anol Bioga s
Bioga s+biodi
ese l
Hydrogen+bio gas
Best case Worst case
Comparative assessment of all alternatives
Climate impact
Land use efficiency Energy
efficiency
Fuel potential
Vehicle adaptation
Fuel cost
Fuel
infrastructure Biodiesel
Synthetic diesel
DME – Dimethylether
Methanol/Ethanol
Methanol/Ethanol
Biogas
Biogas+Biodiesel
Hydrogen+Biogas
Energy efficiency is a key issue
• Proper assessment of the various fuel alternatives requires a holistic view
– All alternatives have advantages and disadvantages
• Production of fuel by gasification technology appears promising
• The supply of renewable raw materials is limited
– Finding the right track is key
– The diesel engine is an efficient energy converter – Ongoing energy-efficiency enhancement is important
and necessary
