US vehicle makers wary of high biodiesel blends

04 February 2008 23:21  [Source: ICIS news]

ORLANDO, Florida (ICIS news)--Quality concerns are putting the brakes on the willingness of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to embrace higher-level blends of biodiesel, representatives of major US makers of farm and road vehicles said on Monday.

"We have so much at stake in this, we do not want biodiesel to get a bad reputation," said Don Bergman of the tractor and farm-implement maker John Deere.

"We have got some work to do to make sure the higher blends of biodiesel are successful," Bergman told the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) conference in Orlando.

John Deere is currently comfortable with its customers using fuel that is only a 5% blend of biodiesel, he said.

If the biodiesel meets specifications, a 20% blend "works great," Bergman said.

The problem is that even a relatively small incidence of problems with biodiesel garners far more attention than the majority of users who have a smooth experience, so OEMs "hit the panic button" to encourage lower-level blends, he said.

Mike McGarry of vehicle industry giant General Motors (GM) said the company is working on developing models that will meet future biofuel mandates requiring higher blends.

However, GM is focused supplying biodiesel-friendly vehicles to fleet operators for now because "they will not buy fuel they are not sure of," McGarry said.

Jennifer Weaver, manager of the NBB's OEM outreach programme, said a collaborative training kit explaining biodiesel issues has been created to help overcome concerns about biodiesel.

The kit will be launched at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) annual meeting this month in San Francisco, she said.


By: Stephen Burns
+1 713 525 2653

< previous article(VIDEO - ICIS news Europe Lunchtime Bulletin 27 October 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly