• German government report counts cost of meeting EU C02 limits
• Ex-SAP executive raises $200m for battery-electric car recharging infrastructure project
• German tests find retrofit particulate filters wanting
• Algae’s stock rises in alternative fuel investment

A report produced by the Berlin Transport Research Institute for the German federal environment ministry on the industry impact of the European Commission’s tailpipe CO2 emissions plans seen by Der Spiegel magazine suggests that car manufacturers would need to invest at least €11.7bn a year in new technologies to meet their prospective obligations, a sum which could entail a per-unit cost ranging from around €500 to €1,500 for cutting CO2 emissions from today’s average 160 g/km to 130 g/km by 2012.

The report suggests that failure to meet the 130 g/km limit could incur fines of €23-32 per gramme/vehicle, while a corresponding offset could be achieved for vehicles emitting below the 130 g/km average. It also suggests that funds from fines should be devoted to financing national carbon mitigation programmes, but that the regulation should be so constructed as to encourage manufacturers to invest in meeting CO2 norms rather than paying fines.

The Institute’s report is said to believe that any extra charges to consumers related to the purchase of C02 limit-compliant cars should be balanced over the medium term by fuel cost savings.

Shai Agassi, a former SAP executive, has announced the formation of Project Better Place, a company which will “deploy the regional and global infrastructure to support electric vehicles on a country by country basis”. Project Better Place aims to establish a widespread grid of electric charging spots at current parking locations as well as battery exchange stations through software systems integration. These capabilities, says Agassi, will provide consumers with the energy to keep their cars charged and driving without the need to wait for electricity at any point.

Shai Agassi, a former SAP executive, has announced the formation of Project Better Place, a company which will “deploy the regional and global infrastructure to support electric vehicles on a country by country basis”. Project Better Place aims to establish a widespread grid of electric charging spots at current parking locations as well as battery exchange stations through software systems integration.

These capabilities, says Agassi, will provide consumers with the energy to keep their cars charged and driving without the need to wait for electricity at any point. The new grid presents a practical solution to address barriers to electric vehicle adoption.

“Our global economy urgently needs an environmentally clean and sustainable approach to energy and transportation. We need to rethink how to bring together consumers, existing technology, and the entire car eco-system to establish the next generation infrastructure that provides energy for commuters and is not dependent on liquid fuels,” said Mr. Agassi. “We have crossed a historic threshold where electricity and batteries provide a cheaper alternative for consumers. Existing technology, coupled with the right business model and a scaleable infrastructure can provide an immediate solution and significantly decrease carbon emissions.”

Shai Agassi, 39 will serve as CEO of the new entity, while Idan Ofer, Chairman of Israel Corp., will serve as chairman. The company has entered into a term sheet for its first round of funding in the amount of $200 million with investments from Israel Corp., Morgan Stanley, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and a group of individual private investors managed by Michael Granoff, which includes James Wolfensohn, Edgar Bronfman, Sr. and Musea Ventures.

Project Better Place will focus in phase one on establishing a repeatable framework, implementing electric recharge grids through local operating companies in multiple countries. In addition, the company aims to secure partnerships with a supply chain of car makers, technology providers, and global and local financing institutions. The company is currently in discussions with various governments to establish pilot sites, with plans to begin rollout of the new infrastructure in early 2008.

Project Better Places says its business model for the electric cars will be similar to that used by mobile phone operators: In the same way that wireless operators deploy a network of cell towers to provide an area of mobile phone coverage, Project Better Place will establish a network of charging spots and battery exchange stations to provide ubiquitous access to electricity to power electric vehicles. The company will partner with car makers and source batteries so that consumers who subscribe to the network can get subsidised vehicles which are cheaper to buy and operate than today’s fuel-based cars. Consumers will still own their cars and will have multiple car models to choose from.

Project Better Place will deploy and test this framework over the next 24 months in a variety of launch markets, after which it plans to deploy “hundreds of thousands” of vehicles annually, across multiple markets. The company anticipates achieving tipping-point saturation in early markets within 10 years of rollout.

(www.projectbetterplace.com)

Tests on retrofit diesel particulate filters by the Hessen branch of the TÜV technical inspection contractor have disallowed some makes from their buyers’ entitlement to a €330 government subsidy because they don’t trap the minimum 30% of diesel particulate emissions required, reported Automotive News Europe yesterday.

Brands mentioned in the report included Bosal, Tenneco and GAT. The latter has reportedly voluntarily removed five filters from the market, and Tenneco has halted production of four. The German retail motor industry association (ZDK) estimates the German market for retrofit diesel particulate filters will reach 1.5 million units by late 2009, with a total value of about €1.5 billion, but the unavailability of eligible units after the reported test failures is said to have stopped the developing market in its tracks.

Interest in algae as a source of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester, or biodiesel) appears to be increasing as concerns grow about the practical large scale availability of food crop and biomass biofuels feedstocks. Planet Ark has reported that Valcent Products, a Texan company, has formed a joint venture called Vertigro with Global Green Solutions, Inc., funded in part by a Canadian private equity investor, to build a pilot algae bioreactor and research laboratory in El Paso, at a cost of US$3 million.

A small volume of algae-derived vegetable oil convertible to FAME is expected to be produced there by mid-2008. The same report mentioned Livefuels, Inc. and Greenfuel Technologies as other investors in algae-based biofuels technologies. Algae is claimed by Vertigro to be capable of producing far more fuel feedstock per acre than food crops such as soy beans, the U.S.’s current leading biodiesel source: 100,000 gallons per acre annually, compared with about 50 gallons per acre for soybeans.

Single-cell algae can be grown in aquaculture anywhere with sufficient sunlight and nutrient sources, though the distribution systems for mineral oil are still not considered compatible with biofuels, which provides biodiesel suppliers with an infrastructure problem.

A report by an energy study panel of the Inter Academy Council (IAC), which brings together national science academies from around the world including the UK’s Royal Society, endorses biofuels as holding “great promise for simultaneously addressing climate change and energy security concerns”.

To get the most out of biofuels, the scientists say the focus should be on fuels from lignocellulosic feedstocks (including agricultural residues and waste), which have the potential to generate five to 10 times more fuel than processes using feedstocks such as sugar cane and corn. This should be a research priority, along with methods for the direct microbial production of butanol or other forms of biofuels that may be superior to ethanol. (www.interacademycouncil.net/?id=12161)

A commercial future for algae culture may be brought forward by the growing controversy over food crop biofuels; Last week Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, called for a five-year moratorium on biofuels, saying it was a "crime against humanity" to convert food crops to fuel at a time when there are more than 850 million hungry people in the world, while an online survey of 807 Americans released yesterday by meat processor Hormel Foods and carried by Planet Ark showed 47% of them opposed U.S. ethanol production subsidies because they increased food prices.