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Volvo works on seven green fuels
Page 30
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Volvo's Environmental Seminar put the spotlight on biofuel and allowed the firm to show off seven carbon-neutral
prototypes. Tim Maughan was there. Volvo's Environmental Seminar, held in Brussels last month, did not seek to provide an easy solution to the CO,emission/global-warming conundrum. Instead the aim was to encourage a debate on this farreaching topic and to show delegates Volvo's latest biofuel technology.
Manufacturers such as Volvo are investing heavily in biofuel powerplants, but after nearly 100 years of diesel dominance, finding the ideal biofuel for road transport is bound to be a lengthy affair. Inevitably, research is characterised by trial and error: Volvo has developed seven demonstration trucks (all of them FM9 26-tonners ) that are CO, neutral (see panel).
"Going to the petrol station is going to be very complicated,"one delegate quipped,referring to the seven configurations. But once the research is complete, Volvo plans to put a single engine type into production, probably by about 2015. Volvo Group CEO Leif Johansson stressed the -uncertainty of producing the fuels" namely, the potential difficulties in harvesting sufficient raw materials from crops such as oil seed rape. As biofuel engines develop, more land will have to be set aside for fuel production. In some cases, this could clash with the need to grow food, especially in developing countries.
International co-operation
Johansson spoke of the importance of international co-operation, saying -industry and society must work together" to take biofuel technology forward.
Extending the discussion, Johansson referred to consumer choice and its impact on the environment. Why should mineral water be hauled across Sweden when the same product is available locally, he asked. Road hauliers and their customers, he added, must pay more