Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA)  I am not a car guy.  Not a car gal.  That said, I LOVE the TDI Audi’s that race the LeMans endurance races.  I love them like I have never loved a car before.  Up close, in person, they take my breath away with the beauty of their movement, the quiet grace they exhibit gliding around turns, up hills and over stomach-turning rises.  It’s like dancing.  It’s like it’s not a car, not a machine.  More ethereal. 

The author (right) tells Lyn St. James of her fascination with the Audi TDIs. The famous driver hopes to try one. Photo courtesy of Motosports Industry Association

I told that to anyone who seemed interested.  I told it a year ago to Lyn St. James and she was convinced that she’d like to take one on the course.  At Petit LeMans I told it to Eva Maria Veith, one of Audi Germany’s PR representatives at the paddock, when I was looking for someone to talk to about their participation in the Green Challenge.  I felt we connected, that she knew exactly what I was trying to articulate-until I said that those Audi’s didn’t seem German.  I mean, not stereotypically German.  Not heavy.  Not just well-engineered machines.  Something else.  Ummmm, I mean, well, you know…….  Anybody see a hole I can go crawl into? 

“The Green Challenge is an opportunity for us to showcase new and alternative technologies, not only racing, but also developments for our customers, a way to build bridges,” Eva-Marie explained.  “For example, Audi’s FSI (fuel straight injection or direct fuel injection) technology was successful in LeMans and a year later it was available in commercial vehicles.  Same for four wheel drive.  The Green Challenge is part of that.”

Regardless of my clumsy introduction, Eva-Marie did her best to find the right person to answer my specific questions about the advanced biofuels part of the Green Challenge.  Maybe it was because I did try to speak a little German.  But it’s been a long time since I was a kindermädchen in der nähe von Munchen.

My cell phone rang as we sat by Turn 10 during the Petit LeMans race the next day.  Thank goodness it was during a yellow caution and a person could hear herself think for a few moments.  Now that the race, in its 4^th hour, had settled into a bit of a rhythm, Richard Karlstetter, Shell Oil’s global technology manager for racing fuels had time to talk.  We met in the Audi paddock.  I asked him about Audi and Shell’s perspectives on the green racing emphasis in the American LeMans Series racing-and what they thought of the Green Challenge.

“Motorsport is important to test innovative fuel technologies,” he said, “to focus on advanced biofuel technology.”  There are two technologies that Shell is looking at with the Le Mans series, he explained:  biomass to liquid and gas to liquid.  Gas to liquid has been a main component of their racing program since 2006.  In 2008 they introduced biomass to liquid.  At the 2009 LeMans race, they provided fuel that incorporated cellulosic ethanol from Iogen, a Canadian company of which Shell owns 50%.  Shell also has an interest in Choren with a demo plant which converts wood products and wood-based waste in Freiburg scheduled to open early 2010. 

Shell, the official supplier of the Audi TDI's B5 diesel.

Richard emphasized that they are focused on advanced biofuels only-on sustainable biofuels, not on first generation (corn, soy, etc.) ones.

According to him, Shell’s long view has biofuels playing an important role in replacing crude oil.  If the entire Shell management doesn’t share this view, you wouldn’t know it from listening to their racing fuels guy.  He seriously warmed to the subject explaining that Shell is investing in advanced biofuels technology in order to contribute to sustainable, affordable technology and energy supplies.  He is enthusiastic about Shell’s search for new biohydrocarbons and crude oil alternatives.  Five years ago, he recalled, adjustments in racing regulations led to more efficient drive trains, more efficient racing.  With next generation biofuels, the same benefits will be expected-not only for racing cars, but also applications for regular folks’ on-the-road technologies.

Which brings me back to those dancing Audi’s.  Part of their secret is TDI.  You see the letters all over the car.  Turbo Diesel Injection.  VW/Audi will be selling four models of cars with TDI engine technology in the US in the next year.  Quiet, smooth, efficient.  And they can do it in the US now because we have finally caught up to “The Old Country’s” standards for clean diesel fuels.  Now, in the US, diesel sold for automobiles must meet ASTM clean diesel standards, opening the door to TDI technology.  According to Audi, with a range of over 600 highway miles per tank, the Q7 TDI gets 30 percent better fuel economy and a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas when compared to gasoline engines of similar size.  In Europe, it races on biodiesel which is not available here.  Imagine the GHG reduction then!  Watch a Discovery Channel “How Its Made” program to find out more. 

As clouds threatened the race course, I asked about another cloud in the biofuels sky.  There is currently NO cellulosic ethanol commercially available for purchase in the US.  Although Shell can point to two month-long demonstration/PR events selling E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) at a station in Chicago and at one in Canada, Richard had to admit that a number of hurdles have not been surmounted:  logistics of getting enough biomass to the cellulosic ethanol plants; and inefficient biomass conversion technologies.  We talked about potential solutions to these challenges.  A lot of work remains to bring technologies achieved on the racing circuits to practical, commercial scale production.

As the track quieted for another caution and the dark clouds continued to roll in, the global technology manager for Shell’s racing fuels summed it up, “For Shell, motorsport is a key platform to demonstrate new technological innovations for advanced biofuels.”  For racing, and, eventually for the rest of us.