Filed under: Diesel, Emerging Technologies, Etc.
Shell exec says oil companies must work together with car companies
It's either a visionary look at the future or an early call for help, but Royal Dutch Shell executive Rob Routs today called for the oil and auto industries to cooperate more than they have in the past. As noted in Automotive News (subs req'd), Routs said, "In the future I see [that] the business of making cars and the business of producing energy will be more linked than ever before. ... These [social and environmental] costs are increasingly unaffordable, especially as today's 900 million vehicles might grow to some 1.2 billion three decades from now."
Routs made the comments at the Automotive News Europe's New Powertrain Technologies Conference in Amsterdam. He also said that Shell's gas-to-liquid diesel blends provide a five percent CO2 emission reduction. He didn't say how much CO2 is emitted to make the GTL product compared to making straight diesel.
We'll keep our eye out for more news on Shell's second-generation biofuel that can be made from agricultural waste, straw or wood chips.
Actually, Routs' call is probably neither of the two choices I set up at the beginning of this post. It's more likely just good business strategy.
Related:
[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris 11:42PM (3/28/2007)
Gee, aren't they working together already, and that's why the car companies keep stalling on green technologies? You know, like the Volt that can only go 40 miles on a dream battery when the EV1 could go like 75-150 miles on nickel-metal hydride?
No, I don't know, but it seems to me the worst thing would be closer ties between car companies and big oil. The car companies need to sever that tie and move on.
Reply
Anthony 11:43PM (3/28/2007)
The last time that happened, didn't this happen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy
Reply
rgseidl 8:22AM (3/29/2007)
Shell, like BP and others, simply doesn't have the vast proven reserves that e.g. Exxon Mobil was able to secure (for a variety of reasons). Combine supply risks in the Middle East with PM and CO2 emissions issues and, certifying alternative fuels (such as xTL liquids) for use in a large range of vehicles becomes a priority for the European oil industry. They cannot cut over to a new fuel grade unless (a) they have sufficient confidence in demand growth and (b) they can free up pumps by phasing out fuel grades that are no longer needed (e.g. Euro 98).
All-electric vehicles would indeed disrupt the oil industry's current business model. There is a reason Chevron picked up Ovonics when GM abandoned its EV-1 program. Perhaps it will take a startup like Tesla to shake things up.
Reply
Dave 11:55AM (3/29/2007)
Ok - I'm with Chris and Anthony - aren't they already working a little too closely? One makes it, and one burns too much of it. The other makes more, the other burns even more... seems pretty symbiotic to me.
Reply
Mack 12:38AM (3/30/2007)
I wish that I could buy a Chevy Matiz. A car like the Matiz is all I need for getting about locally.
I want one with the 800cc motor not the 1000cc.
Does anybody out there know of a buisness that makes importing economical cars from Europe to the US easy?
Americans tend to make the right choice after first exhausting all other options.
Reply
Chris M 4:01AM (3/30/2007)
The oil companies want to make sure the money keeps rolling in, so no alternative fuels that they don't control! From their standpoint, H2 and biofuels and "coal-to-oil" is ok, as they can still control distribution.
Plug-in electrics scare the bejebus out of them!
Reply
Tim 11:48AM (4/04/2007)
Oil and Auto have worked together ever since the IC engine was first invented. We may never know the true cost (money, deaths, pain and suffering) of our intentionally manipulated addiction to Oil. http://internalcombustionbook.com What a shame we are too blind to see, too afraid and too greedy to do anything about it.
Reply