Bio Products Opportunity

There is a lot of publicity in the media currently about Ford Australia’s potential decision to shut down engine production at its Geelong plant, as the products currently being made there will not meet the impending Euro IV emissions regulations. No final decision has been made yet, but public figures including Democrats leader Lyn Allison are urging Ford to consider retooling their Geelong operations to construct more environmentally friendly engines.

“Hybrid and alternative fuel technologies are the way of the future, and exist in Australia right now,” she said.

Senator Allison also called on the Howard government to assist in the development and public acceptance of low-pollution cars such as electric vehicles, pointing to the CSIRO and Holden joint venture that produced the E-Commodore.

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Although it would be ideal to see a major Australian manufacturer taking the lead on alternative fuels or more efficient vehicles, retooling an entire plant to deal with a new type of powertrain is a big ask, especially for a company that posted a $40 million loss for 2006. Other competitors such as Holden aren’t in a much better position, however, so this could be the opportunity Ford needs to differentiate itself in a market where “staying the course” has seen profits tumble in the light of changing consumer needs.

(Source: IBN News)

The general line of thought found in most research papers and the media - here included - is that electric vehicles, specifically those that draw their energy from the main power grid, would result in more emissions due to our relatively “dirty” coal-dominated power supply, despite the higher efficiency of an electric drivetrain. Not so, according to Dr David Lamb, head of the Low Emissions Transport group, part of the Energy Transformed Flagship at CSIRO.

Dr Lamb contends that, rather than a simple matter of adding to grid load, the amount of additional emissions that plug-in vehicles would generate depends largely on the “pattern of electricity use across the grid, which sees consumption vary widely during the day”.

“There is such a variation on the draw on the electricity grid that, with clever metering, clever charging devices and clever batteries, you will have the ability to suck the power from the grid at times when it would not add to the load on the grid,” he said.

“In other words, you could have, say, half the cars on the road charging from the electricity grid without changing the emissions profile from the power station.”

“You can expect in a few years time a lot of houses will have solar generation from panels on the roof and a little wind turbine on the roof, maybe, and that opens up the door to charging the vehicle for free, and absolutely emissions-free.”

The fuel efficiency expert also attacks the notion that “SUVs”, or four-wheel drive vehicles, use less energy over the total manufacturing and driving life cycle than hybrids, a concept popularised by CNW Marketing Research’s report into the total life-cycle cost of various vehicles. According to Dr Lamb, many of the assumptions made in the report are invalid, including the distances that each type of vehicle is assumed to have driven.

“It distorts the argument when you say we’ll divide Hummer (energy consumption) by 1 million miles but only divide the Prius by 50,000 miles because Prius buyers don’t do high miles,” he says. “That’s the stupid logic of it.”

If Dr Lamb and his team are correct, they will likely have a difficult time changing popular misconceptions about plug-in vehicles, but it is certainly encouraging news for people wanting to see efficient, low-emissions vehicles on the roads.

(Sources: Drive.com.au, CSIRO)

Western Australia is set to be the third Australian state to trial hybrid taxis, with the state government offering a $15,000 grant and up to 20 per cent reduction in the vehicle lease rates for up to 10 hybrid taxis. Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said that, combined, the vehicles would emit 410 tonnes less CO2 over an eight-year lifespan when compared to standard taxis such as the six-cylinder Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon.

Hybrids are well-suited to urban driving where idling and frequent start-stopping is common, making taxis an ideal candidate. New York City in the United States is planning to convert their entire fleet to hybrid vehicles, and the vehicles are also being trialled in Townsville and Sydney. Unfortunately the WA government is likely to be limited in the variety of vehicles to be offered as part of the grant application process, with only two hybrids being sold in Australia currently that would suit the role: the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid (there is also a third hybrid available, the Lexus RX400h, but at about $95,000 each it’s unlikely to be racking up the kilometres as a taxi). The programme may be extended if it is judged to be successful, but no time frame was given for a wider introduction of the hybrid vehicles.

(Source: PerthNow)