Scania to supply ethanol buses for São Paulo

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 09:27:09 +0000

São Paulo, in Brazil − with its many millions of inhabitants − is taking another step towards sustainable development. The city’s mayor, Gilberto Kassab, announced yesterday (25 November) that Scania ethanol buses will become part of the public transport system. The first 50 buses will go into service in May 2011.

“The use of ethanol as a vehicle fuel is the best example of what can be done here and now in sustainable development work. Ethanol accounts for 90 percent of the renewable fuel available in the world. By delivering ethanol buses to São Paulo, Scania is helping to strengthen Brazil’s leading position in reducing climate impact,” said Melker Jernberg, Senior Vice President and head of Scania Buses and Coaches.

There are a total of some 15,000 public transport buses in São Paulo. One official environmental target is that all such buses should operate on renewable fuels by no later than 2018.

“Since the supply of biogas is limited, ethanol will be the dominant biofuel. This means there is very large potential for Scania, which is the only manufacturer of heavy-duty buses with ethanol-powered engines,” according to Wilson Pereira, head of sales of Buses and Coaches at Scania Brasil.

Scania is receiving the ethanol bus order after a few years of field trials in São Paulo, coordinated by experts with links to the University of São Paulo and with participation by ethanol suppliers, bus bodybuilders, operators and São Paulo transport authorities.

“The initiative has shown that ethanol-powered buses are ready to operate in Brazil, immediately helping to replace the use of fossil fuel with a renewable source and offering a tremendous advantage in emission reduction,” says Wilson Pereira.

The new Scania buses will operate in São Paulo, where transport authority SPTrans is aiming at an initial fleet of 200 ethanol buses.

All buses will be manufactured in Brazil. Chassis assembly will take place at Scania’s production unit in São Paulo and bodywork will be done by a local company.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of ethanol fuel and has long experience in producing and using biofuels in a sustainable way. The ethanol is made from cane sugar and has been used since the 1980s as fuel for cars and other vehicles with petrol-fuelled engines. Successful public policies on land management have allowed a steadily increasing output of bioenergy and other agricultural products, while deforestation rates in the Amazon are continuously decreasing.

Scania started to develop ethanol buses in the mid-1980s in close cooperation with the Stockholm regional public transport company Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL). Two decades of regular full-scale operation in tough urban conditions show that ethanol-power is a fully proven bus technology. There are no operational drawbacks as long as the scheduled maintenance requirements are followed. The buses are completely standard, using regular Scania components.

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Sir Richard Branson Gives Green Light to Saab BioPower

admin — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:48:00 +0000

Move over fossil fuel – that’s just so passé – or that’s the message as the UK’s most high-profile and best-known businessman Sir Richard Branson takes delivery of a Saab 9-5 BioPower!

Sir Richard’s switch to his Saab flex-fuel car, which runs on the eco-friendly and renewable fuel source bioethanol E85 (made from plant products such as wheat and grain), reinforces the Virgin boss’ unwavering commitment to fighting one of the biggest challenges of our times – that of global warming.

Speaking today (Wednesday 15th November) as he took the keys of his new Saab, Sir Richard said: “I am convinced that biofuels are the way forward, both for the car and aviation industries, which is a vision we share with Saab. Now we need to extend that vision to others. It’s high-time that flex-fuel cars, such as the Saab 9-5 BioPower, are given the same concessions in the UK as other green cars, like for example, exemption from London’s Congestion Charge.”

He continued: “At the moment, bioethanol is made from a variety of agricultural sources, whilst in the future, we will see it made from cellulosic waste matter, such as wood chippings, which really will make it the ultimate green fuel”

Earlier this year, the Virgin Group announced that all profits and equity realisations over the next ten years from the group’s worldwide transport companies, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains in the UK, would be invested in the renewable energy sector. The amount to be invested is expected to be some £1.6bn. Virgin Fuels is expected to be one of the beneficiaries and has already invested in bioethanol production and will conduct research and development into alternative transport fuels, including bioethanol and an alternative biofuel for aviation. Sir Richard’s new car will carry both the Virgin Fuels and Saab BioPower logos.

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Clean Vehicles » bioethanol

Scania to supply ethanol buses for São Paulo

Sir Richard Branson Gives Green Light to Saab BioPower