Global Bioenergies teams with Audi on isooctane for cars
In France and Germany, Global Bioenergies announced a two-year cooperative development agreement with the German car-manufacturer Audi for isobutene-derived isooctane, a high performance biofuel for gasoline engines.
Thomas Buhl, Head of Business Development at Global Bioenergies said: “We had recently announced the start of our pre-commercial pilot phase at the Fraunhofer CBP in Leuna allowing obtaining high-purity isobutene which can be used for different applications. One crucial point of our collaboration with Audi will consist in supplying them with isooctane derived from our isobutene to be produced at that pilot.”
Global Bioenergies is a pioneer in the development of processes for the direct and cost-efficient transformation of renewable resources into light olefins, the key building blocks of the petrochemical industry. Its most advanced program consists in the production of bio-isobutene, a molecule with multiple applications, one of which allows its transformation into isooctane, the gold standard for gasoline engines (octane number 100).
As a 100% drop-in fuel, it can be used in any blending ratio with all standard fuels for gasoline motors. It does not present the drawbacks associated with alcohol-based biofuels such as ethanol or isobutanol which lead to limited blending ratios and lower mileage per liter.
Audi is a frontrunner at implementing sustainable solutions for all aspects directly linked to its products. Three parameters are key to Audi in pushing forward the development of new biofuels: the quality of the fuel to ensure optimal compatibility with its engines, the environmental footprint in particular regarding CO2 emissions and the requirement to use feedstock not in competition with eatable resources.
The agreement also allows for Audi to acquire up to 2% holding in Global Bioenergies .
In addition, During the two-year collaboration, this agreement also foresees the possibility for Audi to acquire shares of Global Bioenergies corresponding to less than 2% of its capital.
Global Bioenergies background
In November, Global Bioenergies announced that it will build a second industrial pilot on the site of the Leuna refinery, close to Leipzig in Germany. This new pilot plant, to be supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through a $7 million grant, will include a 3 year study at the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes.
This second facility represents a 10X jump in scale from the company’s first project, and will allow for a much purer isobutene product to be collected — required for certain downstream applications such as butyl rubber polymerization.
The pilot plant in Leuna will combine two 5,000 liter fermenters and a complete purification system, mimicking all aspects of a commercial scale plant. Designed for a production capacity of up to 100 tons per year, the isobutene produced in Leuna can be used for the fabrication of plastics, elastomers and fuels. Such scale will enable the delivery of samples to industrialists. This second pilot is the final step in Global Bioenergies’ development program before the full scale exploitation of the isobutene process.
In June 2013, Global Bioenergies had announced the launch of its first industrial pilot in the heart of the Bazancourt-Pomacle biorefinery, close to Reims. This first pilot, to be run through a collaboration with Arkema and the CNRS, is supported by a EUR 5.2 million state financing through the French “Investissements d’Avenir” program. This first industrial pilot will set the bases for large scale exploitation of the isobutene process in its application to methacrylics.
Category: Fuels
