Shell's biofuel bets

Ethanol and biodiesel are two of the fuel options energy giant, Shell is looking at for the future and the firm is bringing some rigour to the investigation.

Shell claims to be the biggest biofuels distributor in the world, shifting around 3bn litres of bioethanol and other biofuels in 2005, equivalent to the total amount of gasoline consumed in the UK that year.

So where’s Shell making its bets? Conversations at yesterday’s press-only fuel open-day revolved around biofuels for sure, but the big thrust in the short term is into gas-to-liquids. This is a technology that can turn methane gas into diesel. Not as green as existing cracking processes, it uses more energy, but the fuel is distinctly cleaner, Shell says. The technology is not quite a cinch, but at 50 years old, (it was developed by the Germans during WW2) it is pretty well understood. Also diesel made this way can be a direct, drop in replacement for conventionally refined diesel. So there are no worries about compatibility. There is no need to develop new engines to accommodate them.