OREANDA-NEWS. The vision of extracting fuels from renewable resources is getting closer: Mercedes-Benz is collaborating with speciality chemical companies Clariant and Haltermann to bring second generation bioethanol in a fleet test on the road.

The pilot project fills tanks with a new biofuel: sunliquid20 is super-grade fuel with 20 percent cellulosic ethanol. Special attribute: The fuel is produced using agricultural waste such as straw. For the next twelve months the vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz test fleet can be refilled with the new fuel at an internal petrol station in Stuttgart-Unterturkheim which was put up especially for this project. With an octane rating (RON) of more than 100, the fuel guarantees a high level of efficiency.

The necessary technical development has been going on for some time at Mercedes-Benz: "Our main task is to shape solutions for sustainable mobility of the future. We see great potential in second generation biofuels with regards to sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gases. Petrol with 20 percent ethanol can already be used in our latest Mercedes-Benz BlueDIRECT petrol engines. This offers ideal potential for best efficiency and high greenhouse gas savings," explains Peter Lueckert, Director for Engines, Powertrains and Fuel Injection at Daimler AG.

Up to 25 percent less crude oil demand in 2020 - thanks to straw
Ethanol from cellulose is second generation bioethanol, which is produced from agricultural waste, such as wheat straw. Thus, it poses no competition for food as well as animal feed production, and compared to fossil fuels it considerably reduces CO2-emissions.

"Sustainably produced biofuels make a relevant contribution to climate protection. This is why we decided to support this pilot project," states Udo Hartmann, head of Corporate Environmental Protection at Daimler. "Globally, therefore in Germany as well, a large amount of agricultural waste remains unused. With cellulosic ethanol about a quarter of European gasoline demands prognosed for 2020 could be met - an important component of sustainable mobility."