MOTOREX
MOTOREX MAGAZINE 26 TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION ALTERNATIVE FUELS HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES Teamwork: discussing the latest results of the ongoing HVO tests. MOTOREX MAGAZINE 27 Interview: Martin Aeschlimann Efforts to reduce CO 2 emissions are wide-ranging. Alternative fuels are one example, and much is being learned from using them. Coupled with promising new technologies, these findings are spurring further innovation. Dr. Markus Kurzwart, R&D Director at MOTOREX, explains why. Twenty years ago, producing green hydrogen from solar power and CO 2 was dismissed as a pipe dream. Today the process is the basis for 100 % renewable, CO 2 -neutral fuels, albeit still in small quantities. More impressive in quantitative terms are the shares of renewable resources in commercially available fuels. In 2021 these amounted to 9.1 % across Europe and even reached 30 % in Sweden! But what impact do these complex fuel cocktails have on engine oil and the inner workings of combustion engines? Passenger car fuel consumption has been falling since 2009. In 2021 a diesel vehicle used roughly 12.5 % less fuel, a gas-powered vehicle 9 % less. Source: TCS 30 % In Sweden the share of renewable resources in fuels is already 30 % – and rising. Source: Eurostat B20 / HVO B20 contains 20 % bio and 80 % petroleum diesel. HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) can be produced from 100 % renewable raw materials. Does adding renewable materials to fuels make sense? Yes, especially when the overall environmental and economic balance is right. The reduction in CO 2 is significant. And fossil resources are conserved that will still be needed in the future for hard-to-replace products. What forms of renewable energy are being used today? Biofuels can be classified into three generations: The first consists of plant oil fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel. These use raw materials that grow back such as oilseeds (rape) and sugar cane. Their significance is waning because – for ethical reasons – arable land should be used mainly for growing food crops and feedstuffs. The second generation uses waste and residual materials from agriculture and forestry such as energy crop residues as well as animal fats. Third- generation biofuels are made from organic materials such as algae and waste materials (straw, sawdust). So-called e-fuels (synthetic fuels) are a further interesting alternative. In the future, hydrogen and CO 2 will also play an increasingly important role. Do you have a favorite fuel? As with gasoline and diesel fuel from petroleum, renewable fuels are hydrocarbon compounds with additional oxygen content. But new molecules are also being designed that have not yet found large-scale applications. The purity of these fuels, the decomposition products during combustion, and their impacts on engine oil carry both opportunities and risks. Our current focus is on admixtures for existing fossil fuels such as ethanol, B7, B20, or even MTBE (methyl tertbutyl ether) and HVO. HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) is a promising future alternative for diesel engines. “CHANGE IS WHAT DRIVES US.” Dr. Markus Kurzwart, Director of Research and Development holds a doctorate in chemistry and has been leading his team at MOTOREX since 2006, enjoys riding motorcycles while testing new product prototypes, listens to classical music, often spends time in the woods and heats with wood from the forest.
