Bio methanol on Danish petrol stations
Efforts to change road transport is focused on electrifying the transport sector. The main disadvantages of this strategy are that it requires replacing the existing vehicle fleet and an entirely new infrastructure. Liquid fuels such as methanol from renewable sources are an interesting alternative that can be used in existing vehicles. This project will develop methanol blends, distribution infrastructure, procedures for converting vehicles to run high methanol blend operation.
According to the latest projections from the Danish Energy Agency, Denmark will have 92% fossil fuels in the transport sector by 2030, if no further initiatives are taken. Methanol from renewable sources is currently one of the most promising alternative fuels, but its potential has not yet been utilized.
The objective of this project is to experimentally develop a framework for commercial-scale supply of bio-methanol for spark-ignited (i.e., gasoline) vehicles.
A recent study has identified M85, a blend of 85% methanol with 15% regular gasoline, as the most suitable bio-methanol blend for both summer and winter operation in Denmark. It also showed that older gasoline vehicles will run well on M85. The car models which will run on methanol in this project include recent cars with turbo charging and direct gasoline injection. These cars require installation of additional engine control units (“Flex Fuel Kits”) to run on M85. As an alternative, it will be investigated how much methanol can be added in a gasoline blend and used in gasoline vehicles without flex fuel kits.
The daily life with methanol cars is tested in different vehicle fleets, representing both East and West Denmark, with a total of approx. 100 vehicles. During the project an estimated 300,000 liter of bio-M85 will be distributed, 2-3 million km driven and 235 tons of CO2 saved.
The participants in the project are Danish Methanol Association, HMK Bilcon, Danish Technological Institute, Circle-K, OK a.m.b.a, Scantune, FDM, City of Skanderborg, City of Copenhagen and Go’on.
Key figures
Participants
| Partner | Subsidy | Auto financing |
|---|---|---|
| Teknologisk Institut | 0,81 mio. DKK | 1,21 mio. DKK |
| HMK Bilcon A/S | 0,15 mio. DKK | 0,15 mio. DKK |
| CIRCLE K DANMARK A/S | 0,69 mio. DKK | 1,03 mio. DKK |
| Dansk Methanolforening | 0,74 mio. DKK | 0,49 mio. DKK |
| FDM | 0,12 mio. DKK | 0,19 mio. DKK |
| GO'ON GRUPPEN A/S | 0,59 mio. DKK | 0,88 mio. DKK |
| Københavns Kommune | 0,20 mio. DKK | 0,30 mio. DKK |
| OK A.M.B.A. | 0,77 mio. DKK | 1,16 mio. DKK |
| 2M Teknik - Scantune - Etune | 0,22 mio. DKK | 0,15 mio. DKK |
| Skanderborg Kommune | 0,10 mio. DKK | 0,16 mio. DKK |
Contact
Kongsvang Allé 29
Tlf.: 72202000
