Articles
UK launch of Flexi-Fuel Focus gives bio-ethanol a boost
Author: Eastern Daily Press
Publication Date: 11th July 2005
It looks like any other car, sounds like any other car - and most importantly drives like any other car. But this Ford Focus is different from its petrol-powered cousins and could help create an important new market for UK farmers as well as offering significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
The car has been adapted to run on bio-ethanol, a green fuel derived from crops such as wheat and sugar beet.
Filling the tank with bio-ethanol gives a 70% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with the petrol-only version, as carbon dioxide is absorbed by the crop while it is growing. The 30% is accounted for by the energy needed to grow and process the crop.
Ford is launching the car in the UK and is hoping to repeat the success the Flexi-Fuel Focus has enjoyed in Sweden. Renewable energy campaigners believe this car and others like it will provide the impetus to kick-start the East of England's bio-fuels industry.
On sale in Sweden since 2001, the greener Focus now accounts for 80pc of the model's sales in Sweden and is also available in the C-Max version of the vehicle. The Flexi-Fuel Focus costs around £200 more than the conventional car and is near-identical to its petrol cousin, with revised fuel pipework and changes to the cylinder head and engine management system.
The car's sensors detect what fuel is being used, allowing drivers to fill up with bio-ethanol or petrol without adjustment. The standard blend on sale in Sweden is a mixture of 85pc bio-ethanol and 15pc petrol.
Sweden's bio-ethanol industry is developing fast, with fellow car manufacturers Saab and Volvo set to join Ford by launching bio-ethanol models soon. With three of the biggest motor manufacturers in the market, it's thought that there will be 300,000 bio-ethanol cars in Sweden by 2010, making up about 8pc of the nation's fleet. Availability of the fuel is keeping pace: just 100 filling stations were stocking bio-ethanol in 2004, but the figure is expected to rise to 2,000 (one in two outlets) by 2009.
Much of this is down to the work of Per Carstedt, bio-fuels pioneer and Ford dealer, who has helped establish the Swedish bio-fuels industry. Mr Carstedt, who runs the Bio-Alcohol Fuel Foundation in Ornskoldsvik in northern Sweden, has been an advocate of bio-fuels for more than 15 years. He said: "The reality is that oil is rising in price, and at the rate we are consuming will run out. In addition the levels of carbon dioxide being generated by transport and industry worldwide are having an irreversible effect on our climate.
"We need to curb transport use, increase energy efficiency and use a much higher proportion of bio-fuels to lower carbon dioxide emissions. Bio-fuels offer a way forward that is sustainable."
To support the development of bio-fuels the Swedish government agreed to exempt bio-ethanol from fuel duty and cut car tax on bio-fuel vehicles.
Andy Taylor, Ford of Europe director of corporate citizenship, said the Flexi-Fuel vehicle was a step towards producing a car with zero emissions. He added: "The Flexi-Fuel vehicle is a step towards that goal. Unlike many other alternative technologies, it is affordable. It is just a couple of hundred pounds more [than the petrol-only version]. We are in the business of making cars for the people and we need to provide green solutions for everyone."
After its success in Sweden, Ford believes the car will prove a hit in the UK provided the government and local authorities back the bio-fuels industry. Ford is keen to see the UK government adopt the EU's Renewable Road Transport Fuel Obligation, which would require all sales of road fuels to include a proportion of bio-fuels.
Mr Taylor said: "We can build the cars, but there needs to be the support from local and national government to get the project off the ground. We want to sell them to government fleets and we also need the fuel companies to support development of the necessary infrastructure."
Initially the Flexi-Fuel Focus will not be available to the general public as Ford concentrates on fleet sales. The first 40 Flexi-Fuel Focus models will be arriving in the UK next year as part of the pioneering Somerset Biofuels project in the south-west of England, which has been backed by local councils, Wessex Water, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Wessex Grain. Fuel for the 40 cars will be produced by Wessex Grain, which is building a factory to make bio-ethanol from wheat.
Ford is keen to set up a similar project in Norfolk, which has been leading the way in the development of bio-fuels. British Sugar is on course to open the UK's first plant to produce bio-ethanol from sugar beet at Wissington near Downham Market. The plant, due to come on stream in 2007, would produce 55,000 tonnes of bio-ethanol from 750,000 tonnes of sugar beet every year. Mr Taylor said: "We are willing to work with groups to develop a pilot project like the Somerset scheme in Norfolk. With British Sugar planning the plant at Wissington and with sugar beet such an important crop in the region, it seems an ideal place to conduct a trial."
British Sugar spokesman Clare Wenner said the decision by Ford to launch the bio-ethanol car in the UK was excellent news and proved there was a market for the fuel. James Beales, the managing director of Renewables East, the agency which was set up to promote renewable energy, also welcomed the launch. He said: "We see there are massive opportunities for bio-fuels and the market has already started to develop. We also would also like to see the government adopt the Renewable Road Transport Fuel Obligation which would help the industry get established. In addition we would like to work with Ford and others to create a green corridor along the A11, encouraging the use of bio-fuels."
Source: Eastern Daily Press
Added to the database on 12th July 2005
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