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CARS/LOOKING AHEAD
source: www.heliev.gr/en/international.html
europa.eu.int/comm/environment/
co2/02693_annexes_en.pdf
www.greencarcongress.com/ethanol
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Some car corporations have committed themselves to pursuing a sustainable mobility future with a special focus on energy and innovation... - the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) made a voluntary commitment to achieve a target of 140g CO2/km for their fleet of new passenger cars sold in the EU by the year 2008. The European Commission reviews progress towards this commitment annually. JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association) and KAMA (Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association) have made similar agreements. According to the Commission, in 2003 average carbon dioxide emissions of new cars made by European, Japanese and Korean carmakers were 1.2% lower than the previous year. European carmakers now need to improve at 2.8% per year to meet the target of 140 grams per kilometre by 2008. Japanese and Korean firms need annual 3.1 and 3.6% improvements respectively to hit the target by their deadline of 2009;
- five automotive manufacturers, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, and other companies from the energy supply sector have joined forces to test fuel cell vehicles with the necessary fuel infrastructure under everyday operating conditions. The ‘Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project’ (JHFC) will provide ‘real-world’ tests of the vehicles. The project includes five hydrogen filling stations that have been established in the greater Tokyo area;
- according to the International Energy Outlook 2004, Japan leads the global field in alternative fuel technologies, with more than 2,500 electric vehicles currently in use. Japan was also the first market to develop mass-produced hybrid vehicles with gasoline engines and electric motors. Many trucks and city buses use the technology. In addition, there are more than 300,000 LPG-fuelled vehicles currently in use, including trucks and city taxis, as well as a number of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Toyota became the first automaker to debut a hybrid vehicle in 1997 with its Prius model, and it introduced the world’s first hybrid minivan, the Estima, in June 2001. Toyota plans to sell 300,000 hybrids per year worldwide by 2005; (1)
- advanced technology vehicles, representing automotive technologies that use alternative fuels or require advanced engine technology, are projected to reach 3.9 million vehicle sales per year in the United States and make up 19% of total light-duty vehicle sales in 2025, according to the IEO 2004. Alcohol flexible-fuelled vehicles are projected to continue to lead advanced technology vehicle sales, at 1.4 million vehicles in 2025. Hybrid electric vehicles, introduced into the US market by Honda and Toyota in 2000, are expected to sell well: 750,000 units in 2010, increasing to 1.1 million units in 2025. Sales of turbo direct injection diesel vehicles are projected to increase to 716,000 units in 2010 and 1 million units in 2025;
- the American State of California has decided to promote hydrogen vehicles. In 2005, the Californian Parliament has approved a plan, costing US$54 million, for setting up of a network of hydrogen service stations. 100 such service stations will thus be set up in the regions of the Sacramento and the Los Angeles. 40 stations have already been constructed. Under this project it has also been planned to grant a subsidy of US$10,000 for each hydrogen vehicle sold; (2)
- alternative technologies such as electric vehicles and CNG operated vehicles are also being considered, especially in India and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tax incentives for gas or battery operated vehicles have been introduced in Nepal and Pakistan. With increased attention on India’s polluted cities, for example, the trend in passenger cars and commercial vehicles is becoming more environmentally conscious, with greater emissions restrictions and a surge in CNG-fuelled vehicles. In 2002, New Delhi and Bombay switched to using CNG-fuelled buses and taxis, cutting diesel demand by an estimated 30,000 barrels per day; (1)
- in February 2002, the Japanese Government voted a new law intended for retrieving and recycling used automobiles. This law came into force in 2004. Every year, 5 million cars are taken out of circulation in Japan and of these 20% are exported and 80% are destroyed. The supporters of this law are interested in involving car manufacturers and importers in the process of recycling. The objective is to see to it that 95% of the components are recycled from now till 2015. The car manufacturers have already responded hoping that their cars can be recycled more easily.
Cleaning up existing technologies: the case of Brazilian bio-fuel… - in the mid-1980s - before any other country even thought of the idea - Brazil succeeded in mass-producing bio-fuel for motor vehicles: alcohol, derived from its plentiful supplies of sugar-cane. The military government that ran the country from 1964 to 1985 wanted to reduce its dependence on Middle Eastern petroleum during the 1970s oil crisis. As a result, in 1985 and 1986, more than 75% of all motor vehicles produced in Brazil - and more than 90% of cars - were designed for alcohol consumption. But then it all went wrong. A new generation of alcohol-powered cars entered production in Brazil in 2003, after the government decided that cars capable of burning ethanol should be taxed at 14%, instead of 16% for their exclusively petrol-powered counterparts. Unlike earlier models, these are ‘flex-fuel’ cars—equally happy with pure alcohol, pure petrol, or any blend of the two. In 2004, the first full year that flex-fuel cars were on sale, they accounted for more than 17% of the Brazilian market, and are on course for an even bigger share in 2005;
- in just one year since their launch in September 2003, 200,000Brazilians have bought flex-fuel cars. With alcohol – ethanol - selling at half the price of gas the economic advantage is quite relevant. Moreover, ethanol is one of the best tools we have to fight air pollution from vehicles. Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced from plants, unlike petroleum-based fossil fuels that have a limited supply and are the major contributor of carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas. The ethanol production process represents a carbon cycle, where plants absorb carbon dioxide during growth, ‘recycling’ the carbon released during fuel combustion; (3)
- Brazil hopes to export flex-fuel cars and technology around the world, and auto industry executives say interest from abroad is increasing. But mass exports of flex-fuel cars aren’t likely in the near future, because no other country has an alcohol fuel production and distribution system as advanced as Brazil’s. Virtually all the country’s service stations offer alcohol; (4)
- the use of 10% ethanol blends reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 12-19% compared with conventional gasoline, according to Argonne National Laboratory. In fact, in 2004, ethanol use in the US reduced C02-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 7.03 million tons, equal to removing the annual emissions of more than 1 million cars from the road. The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago credits ethanol-blended reformulated gasoline with reducing smog-forming emissions by 25% since 1990;
- on June 2005, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Toyota is developing flex-fuel cars, targeted at the Latin American market. All foreign carmakers operating in Brazil, except for Toyota and Honda, are already marketing flex-fuel cars. Toyota now sees promise in this car category, as increased numbers of such vehicles are also selling in China and India.
(1) International Energy Outlook 2004. [ www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/oil.html]
(2) [ www.interex.gr/serv/frame_dynamique.asp?url=/opport/default.asp?PARTIE=opport&ATLAS=86&SECUID=14]
(3) Ethanol contains 35% oxygen. Adding oxygen to fuel results in more complete fuel combustion, thus reducing harmful tailpipe emissions. Ethanol also displaces the use of toxic gasoline components such as benzene, a carcinogen. Ethanol is non-toxic, water soluble and quickly biodegradable.
[ www.ethanolrfa.org/factfic_envir.html];
(4) Alan Clendenning, “Brazilian drivers love ethanol”, Associated Press, August 26, 2004. [ www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0408/29/e03-254552.htm]
(J) [ www.interex.gr/serv/frame_dynamique.asp?url=/opport/default.asp?PARTIE=opport&ATLAS=86&SECUID=14]
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