May 7, 2003

Shell and Volkswagen launch trial of synthetic natural gas fuel

Berlin, Germany - A fleet of 25 Volkswagen Golf cars will be driving around Berlin over the next five months, fuelled by "Shell Gas to Liquids", a unique synthetic fuel derived from natural gas. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder launched the trial by filling up the cars at the Royal Dutch/Shell Group's (Shell's) service station Hohenzollerndamm in Berlin.

"Shell Gas to Liquids" fuel offers a similar emissions performance to compressed natural gas (CNG) at a lower cost. It can be used in today's car engines with the existing storage and fuel distribution system, and can be mixed with regular diesel.

Tests carried out by Volkswagen show that many Euro-3 diesel cars operating on this synthetic natural gas based fuel would, without any modifications, meet the stringent Euro-4 emission limits, while Euro-4 car emissions can be lowered even further. Moreover, this specially designed fuel will support innovative drive systems, like Volkswagen's combined combustion system (CCS) which combines the fuel economy advantages of a diesel engine with the emission benefits of a gasoline engine.

The trial is part of a joint research and development programme looking at the development of new road vehicle technologies and fuels, aiming to achieve both sustainability and affordability.

The crystal clear fuel is made using Shell's proprietary "Gas to Liquids" technology, Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis. It is made from natural gas, providing a diversity of energy supply. It can be used in conventional diesel engines and its special properties - a fuel virtually free of sulphur and aromatics - deliver significant emissions benefits.

Shell has been operating a plant in Bintulu, Malaysia since 1993. The plant - the world's only commercial "Gas to Liquids" facility of its kind - produces 12,500 barrels per day. "We hope a decision on the next generation of plants, which will have a capacity of over 70,000 bbl/day or more, can be made in the not too distant future," said Adrian Loader, President of Shell Europe Oil Products. "This would allow us to offer this innovative fuel in larger quantities as early as 2008."

Shell is also investing in research to develop new processes to make transportation fuels from biomass sources in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. One possible route is the gasification of biomass, followed by a "Gas to Liquids" process to give a SunFuel product identical to "Shell Gas to Liquids" fuel. Although it is too early to say if or when the Bio-GTL process will become commercially viable, it offers an intriguing insight into how GTL might facilitate the transition to using renewable primary energy sources to produce transportation fuels.

Shell's synthetic fuel based on natural gas fits perfectly into Volkswagen's stated drive and fuel strategy. "This could be an important step towards a hydrogen fuel cell," said Wolfgang Steiger, Head of Research Energy Conversion Combustion Engines at Volkswagen. "In the longer term, the feedstock for such a synthetic fuel could be bio-mass which would have the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The name Sunfuel would be justified."

The Volkswagen Golf test cars are equipped with TDI engines (74 kW/100 PS) which already meet the strict Euro-4 emissions standards. They will be operated by welfare organiations in Berlin. The cars were handed over during the Volkswagen Automobil Forum "Unter den Linden".

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