Back seat drivers
27 Mar 2007
Over recent years, governments in Europe and the US have heavily promoted the development, respectively, of rapeseed- and corn-based biofuels -- apparently oblivious to the impact that their policies might have on other areas such as agricultural food production.
And, as leading executives at BASF, BP and DaimlerChrysler explain in this issue, these first generation biofuels have only limited potential for CO2 reduction and fossil fuel replacement.
Phil New, president of the BP Global Biofuels, describes bioethanol as "a poor fuel molecule compared with the fossil fuels that it is seeking to replace or the advanced and more complex alcohol molecules that are now under development."
It is these next generation solutions and the process technologies behind them that will enable biofuels to become a major part of a future energy mix that is sustainable and that delivers real environmental benefits.
Like the much broader issue of climate change, the introduction of biofuels is a highly complex process, encompassing many markets, industries and technologies; agriculture, automotive, chemicals and process among them.
Industry experts and scientists, who offer deep knowledge and experience in these areas, should have a much bigger role in steering these developments in the right direction.
And, as leading executives at BASF, BP and DaimlerChrysler explain in this issue, these first generation biofuels have only limited potential for CO2 reduction and fossil fuel replacement.
Phil New, president of the BP Global Biofuels, describes bioethanol as "a poor fuel molecule compared with the fossil fuels that it is seeking to replace or the advanced and more complex alcohol molecules that are now under development."
It is these next generation solutions and the process technologies behind them that will enable biofuels to become a major part of a future energy mix that is sustainable and that delivers real environmental benefits.
Like the much broader issue of climate change, the introduction of biofuels is a highly complex process, encompassing many markets, industries and technologies; agriculture, automotive, chemicals and process among them.
Industry experts and scientists, who offer deep knowledge and experience in these areas, should have a much bigger role in steering these developments in the right direction.
