Volvo calls for fewer biofuels; says too many fuels will result in parts incompatibility, refueling problems

The president of Volvo Europe said that biofuels need to be more focused. He said it was impractical for the auto industry to support multiple feedstocks using multiple processes to produce at least seven fuels. He added that the benefits of alternative fuels should be compared to the benefits of electric-diesel hybrids. He called on the EU to set policies that would prevent incompatibility amongst engine-makers trying to support all the fuels and technologies, as it could lead to refueling issues for travelers.

Volvo said that Biomass-to-liquid (BTL) synthetic diesel and DME (dimethyl ether) were preferable to other biofuels, but BTL was very costly to produce.

Last month in Belgium, a planned demonstration of seven Volvo trucks using different biodiesel blends was nearly ruined when the company could not find any available biodiesel. The company eventually found one gallon of biodiesel which they had worried would not be enough to start one of the vehicles. The demonstration eventually proceeded successfully.

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