Biofuels technology
Today’s biofuels are a strong start. And new technology will take us further.
The next generation of biofuels, using non-food, non-intensively farmed crops or waste, with high conversion efficiency and the ability to be blended in high proportions with conventional fuels, has the potential to take a large share of the future market for fuel supply.
To achieve the 20-30% levels of market penetration believed possible, new technologies need to be developed and applied.
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Helping new technologies emerge
BP is forming partnerships with academia and joint ventures with businesses to develop advanced technologies to boost the use of biofuels.The $500 million, 10-year Energy Biosciences Institute, created with leading academic organizations in the US, is conducting research into areas of biofuels production such as broadening the portfolio of feedstocks used for manufacturing and developing better processes for converting crops to liquid fuels.
BP and DuPont are constructing a 20,000 litre per year biobutanol demonstration plant, and with Associated British Foods are developing a $400 million world-scale bioethanol facility in Hull, UK.
BP: a major player in a growing market
BP is already a major player in the biofuels market – blending and distributing 800 million US gallons of ethanol and approximately 1 billion US gallons of biodiesel in 2007, accounting for about 10% of the global biofuels market.Estimates suggest that future biofuels could deliver greenhouse gas emissions savings on a well-to-wheel basis of up to 90% versus conventional fuels. Research is already proving that higher proportions of biofuels can be blended into gasoline – well above today’s typical limits of 5-10%. These developments show the huge potential for biofuels as the near-term alternative to fossil fuels in the transport market.
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