Amyris and Solazyme at risk of taint from Volkswagen NOx scandal, says website; Solazyme says “Heck no!”

September 29, 2015 |

In California, TheTruthAboutCars reported that Amyris and Solazyme risk being painted with the same tainted brush as Volkswagen due to the fact that both companies collaborated with the company to test emissions of their fuels. It has been alleged that the companies should have known roughly what their emissions would have been and therefore knew that Volkswagen was doctoring their own emissions results because NOx emissions—where the current controversy is centered—were not released to the public.

Solazyme responded to charge in a note to The Digest:

Through a two-year evaluation, Solazyme’s Soladiesel RD, a 100 percent algae-derived renewable diesel fuel, was used in Volkswagen’s Renewable Diesel Evaluation Program.  The program, which included fuel and real-world drivers supplied by Solazyme and vehicle testing done exclusively by Volkswagen on two 2012 Volkswagen TDI vehicles, was designed to determine the suitability of the Soladiesel fuels as substitutes for petroleum derived diesel.

Solazyme’s Soladiesel RD is a drop-in alternative to standard diesel fuels that meets ASTM D 975 standards but is produced from renewable feedstock.   The fuels also meet the new American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for ultra-low sulfur diesel.

The partnership was solely focused on demonstrating the functional performance equivalence of Solazyme’s renewable Soladiesel fuel as compared to traditional petroleum based diesel when used in Volkswagen’s vehicles.  Solazyme was not involved in any way in the certification, validation, or development of the emissions control systems or their compliance with any government standards.

Category: Fuels

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