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Mike Hornby, VP of Stanadyne.
Michael Hornby, Global Vice President of Product Engineering at Stanadyne.

The propulsion challenges facing society are complex and multi-dimensional. Decarbonization is at the core of these challenges and, unfortunately, there is no singular fuel type or technology solution to solve them all. Regardless, the transportation segment requires decarbonization – and it requires it yesterday. This truth and its aggressive timetable are why the internal combustion engine is part of the larger solution to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions to address climate change trends.

Regulating tailpipe carbon will not solve the problem of carbon dioxide alone. Reducing the carbon intensity of electric grids will take time. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are great solutions for certain applications, but also need time to reach critical mass. In the meantime, we continue to rely on liquid fuels for combustion engines in conventional vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids for many on- and off-road applications. Therefore, low-carbon intensity fuels in conjunction with powertrain electrification/hybridization is needed.

Hybridization and low-lifecycle carbon intensity fuels can work together to contribute to a low-net carbon future. The internal combustion engine is ready to use low- and zero- carbon fuels to quickly move down sustainable fuels pathways, power hybrids, and enable more rapid vehicle electrification.

Any decarbonization strategy needs to utilize longer-term low carbon fuels / renewable fuels. The immediate impact of drop-in alternative fuels on legacy vehicle fleets is too great to be dismissed, especially with an existing delivery infrastructure. Industry and legislators alike need to realize it is not always about net zero. Having low-carbon content across a broad scale has a significant decarbonization impact across all transportation sectors. Low-carbon fuels offer decarbonization benefits today as we prepare for the future.

Stanadyne, a leading global fuel and air management systems supplier, is continuing to develop engine innovations enabling the efficient and economic use of low-carbon and future fuels. This continued investment is necessary, as future fuels are propulsion technology drivers with fuel system challenges still needing solutions. As we head down low-carbon fuel pathways, some fuels are thermodynamically challenging with their lower heating values. This and other characteristics make them challenging to use. Their lubricity and viscosity also can be issues, which affect engine start-stop functions and maintaining high fuel delivery pressures for cleaner combustion.

Hyper-Collaboration & Hybrids

Vehicle display in a hydrogen low carbon vehicle.

Consumers, vehicle manufacturers, and propulsion systems providers want diesel performance and total cost of ownership, but with a low-carbon fuel without the shortcomings, difficulties, and reduced range. There is a growing impatience for fuel delivery solutions to be developed. Automakers have stated a need for “hyper-collaboration” with suppliers to develop and implement clean propulsion options to meet state and federal legislation.

There are many technology pathways to achieve low- and net-zero carbon emissions. However, hybrid powertrains powered by low-carbon intensity fuels are one of the fastest tracks to decarbonization development and deployment. Alcohol, hydrogen, propane, compressed natural gas, dimethyl ether (DME) and other sustainable low-carbon intensity fuels can energize these small displacement, high-energy output, high speed engines. High-pressure fuel delivery systems operating at twice the flow help overcome alternative fuels’ low energy content. Many systems already can handle biodiesel and other drop-in renewable fuels currently available in the market.

Accelerating Engine Innovation

Powertrain and fuel system innovation are key to a sustainable future. Stanadyne is accelerating engine innovation with its growing portfolio of renewable and future fuel complaint products. Our breakthrough direct injection liquid propane system, hydrogen direct injection design platform, and high-pressure direct injection pump and injector advancements are driving internal combustion engine decarbonization.

A low-carbon approach isn’t exclusive to fuels. Stanadyne takes a lifecycle approach by designing products for remanufacturing to support a circular internal combustion engine economy. More than two decades of remanufacturing expertise at scale and quality has kept 15 million pounds of waste out of landfills.

Compete, Complement, Co-exist

Advanced internal combustion technology will continue to be a dominant part of the fuel and technology mix for decades to come. New engine designs and fuels, like hydrogen and e-fuels, will drive decarbonization. As zero emission technologies continue to emerge, expect a world where engine technologies and fuels compete, complement, and co-exist.

Michael Hornby is Global Vice President of Product Engineering at Stanadyne

Donnell Rehagen, CEO of Clean Fuels Alliance America
Donnell Rehagen, CEO of Clean Fuels Alliance America

A few years ago, my wife Shelly and I visited Greece. It filled me with wonder to think about how challenging life must have been, and yet the ancient Greeks built massive architectural structures without the modern tools and machines we have today.

When I think about the last 30 years of the biodiesel industry, I am reminded of the Greek God, Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, he pushed a giant boulder uphill for eternity. I’d say our industry, like other alternative fuels, has felt that way a number of times.

However, I’d say fuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel are better represented by Athena. She was known to represent wisdom and the virtues of justice, skill, and victory. We have never let the challenges overtake our spirits. Instead, we have held our heads high and strategized our next moves. At last, we’re reaching a point we had long dreamed of – perhaps even beyond what we initially envisioned. The tables have turned. Our fuels are in demand to help people meet their goals and help America reach a low-carbon future. We’re here and we’re making an impact now – not waiting until decades into the future.

As the biodiesel industry celebrates its 30th anniversary, I am reminded that the soybean farmers, the soybean checkoff, and leaders who founded our organization had great faith, foresight, and fortitude. These humble beginnings in 1992 and the small group of leaders and visionaries who started our industry are the reason our industry, even today, seems like a family – and now a growing family! In 1992, no biodiesel had been produced commercially yet, and today, we produce 3 billion gallons a year of biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Clean Fuels Strategy

The emphasis on carbon reduction across the globe has opened new doors. Net-zero commitments from governments and corporations have raised interest in low carbon fuels like never before. We are making great strides in markets like marine, rail, and aviation that previously had been, at best, neutral to us. Likewise, when considering options to help reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from their vehicles and equipment, Original Equipment Manufacturers and fleets are also taking a much deeper look at us.

While electric solutions are still under development, clean advanced biofuels such as biodiesel and renewable diesel are readily available now for use in existing diesel engines. Most OEMs, including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Cummins, and many others, currently support the use of 20 percent biodiesel blends in their diesel equipment. However, forward-looking fleets from coast to coast – including several in California, Chicago, Madison, Washington D.C., and New York City – are looking to higher blends of biodiesel, even up to B100, to lower their carbon footprint even more dramatically.

Clean Fuels Alliance America logo

Our vision statement says that “biodiesel, renewable diesel, and sustainable aviation fuel will be recognized as mainstream low carbon fuel options with superior performance and emission characteristics.” There is room for all these fuels at our industry’s family table. In that spirit, the National Biodiesel Board has added another leaf.

This January, we made it official: We are now Clean Fuels Alliance America.

This new brand will transform our image and position us as a proven, innovative part of America’s clean energy mix now and in the future. In the process, we’re inspiring America’s energy and transportation leaders to discover new sources of scalable, cleaner fuels.

Biodiesel remains a foundation of our association. Our country couldn’t be having real conversations about carbon reduction targets today if it weren’t for the work of those in biodiesel.

Athena was known as ‘one who fights in front.’ As Clean Fuels Alliance America, we move to the front, proudly blazing a new path forward in clean energy.

Donnell Rehagen serves as the CEO for Clean Fuels Alliance America, biomass-based diesel’s preeminent trade association. Clean Fuels Alliance America is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs.

ron-cogan-capitol-hillThere are many outspoken and polarizing proponents of the various fuels and technologies at play today. This has been the case for several decades now and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Many electric car enthusiasts do not see a future for internal combustion or even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen proponents point out that fuel cell vehicles make more sense than battery electrics since hydrogen generally offers greater driving range and fuel cell vehicles can be refueled in under five minutes, while battery electrics cannot. Biodiesel enthusiasts point out the obvious benefits of this biofuel and even as this fuel gains momentum, wonder why support isn’t stronger. Natural gas advocates see huge and stable supplies of this clean-burning fuel now and in our future, without the truly significant commitment to natural gas vehicles this should bring. And those behind internal combustion vehicles achieving ever-higher efficiency simply wonder what the fuss is all about when conventional answers are here today.

So in the midst of all this, where are we headed? Simple. In the right direction, of course.

As I was writing about these very fuels and technologies some 25 years ago, it wasn’t lost on me that the competition for dominance in the ‘green’ automotive world of the future would be hard-fought and long, with many twists and turns. As our decades-long focus on the ‘green car’ field has shown us, the state-of-the-art of advanced vehicles in any time frame is ever-changing, which simply means that what may seem to make the most sense now is likely to shift, and at times, shift suddenly. This is a field in flux today, as it was back then.

When Nissan powered its Altra EV back in 1998 as an answer to California’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, it turned heads with the first use of a lithium-ion battery in a limited production vehicle, rather than the advanced lead-acid and nickel-metal-hydride batteries used by others. Lithium-ion is now the battery of choice, but will it remain so as breakthrough battery technologies and chemistries are being explored?

Gasoline-electric hybrids currently sell in ever-greater numbers, with plug-in hybrids increasingly joining their ranks. Conventionally-powered vehicles are also evolving with new technologies and strategies eking levels of fuel efficiency that were only thought possible with hybrid powerplants just a few years ago.

What drives efficiency – and by extension determines our future path to the high efficiency, low emission, and more sustainable vehicles desired by consumers and government alike – is textbook evolution. Cars are adapting to meet the changing needs of future mobility and the imperative of improved environmental performance. Some of these evolutionary changes are predictable like lightweighting, improved aerodynamics, friction reduction, and enhanced powertrain efficiencies. Other answers, including the fuels that will ultimately power a new generation of vehicles, will be revealed over time.

So here’s to the cheerleaders who tell us quite vocally that their fuel, technology, or strategy is the answer to our driving future. One of them may be right. But the fact is, the evolutionary winner has yet to be determined.

For most Americans, our transportation choices are limited to the fuels offered at the local gas station. For generations, regular gas stations served our needs pretty well, but America’s transportation needs are changing. Every day we learn about new choices in alternative fuel vehicles, advancements in vehicle efficiency, and new, cleaner types of fuel, so it’s bewildering that gas stations haven’t kept up with these changes. Gas stations today offer a fundamental lack of choices and are no longer in step with the way Americans seek to move about their lives.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Matt-Horton.jpgWith 160,000 fueling locations across America, gas stations outnumber McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, and Taco Bell…combined. But as consumers’ transportation needs change, there is no effort by Big Oil to change with them. Fifty percent of the cars in Big Three showrooms are now capable of being powered by something besides oil. Domestically produced renewable fuels have surpassed imports from Saudi Arabia, and gas consumption is at a 10-year low – yet gas prices remain at all time record levels. Mobility is transforming in other ways with ride sharing, public transit, cycling, and telecommuting all on the rise. Yet still no change in our fueling infrastructure.

At Propel, we have created a new vision for the way gas stations serve the mobility needs of a community, one that meets the changing habits of America’s drivers. Earlier this year, we launched our first ‘Clean Mobility Center’ in Fullerton, California, to offer consumers new, more sustainable, domestic fuel and transportation choices that are more in line with their values, and also reduce our collective impact on the environment while supporting local economies and decreasing our nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

Our Clean Mobility Centers provide a distinctly different customer fueling experience, offering a full range of high performance renewable fuels (Flex Fuel E85, biodiesel) alongside the conventional gasoline that drivers use today. More than 17 million cars on American roads can fuel with something besides oil, and for those that can’t, we provide drivers an opportunity to be part of the solution and a movement towards clean mobility.

With a focus beyond fuel, our Clean Mobility Centers also offer a series of unique, community-friendly features not found at any other gas station in the nation. To maximize fuel economy, we offer free air to fill-up vehicle tires and we have installed bike repair stations so cyclists can tune up and fix bikes along their route. Additionally we have kiosks that provide local bus and other mass transit maps and routes, along with information about rideshare opportunities. Finally, we have two new features at the fueling island: recycling on the go, and the nation’s first carbon offset program, which for only $1 per fill-up allows drivers to offset the carbon emissions from their purchase right at the pump and support local clean energy projects.

Looking forward, as new, even more sustainable fuels and transportation options come to market, we’ll use the infrastructure we’re building today to offer new choices. In fact, we’re actively exploring options such as renewable gasoline and diesel, cellulosic fuels, algae-based fuels, natural gas, EV charging, and car sharing.

Just as we’ve seen in other industries, such as manufacturing labor, fair trade practices, or organic agriculture, consumer choice can be the biggest force for change in our society. At the pump, consumers can now vote with their wallets and choose a fuel company that better aligns with their values and interests. No matter what type of car they drive, consumers can use our new stations and learn about cleaner mobility options along the way. With 160,000 outlets and regular contact with customers, the fueling industry is in a unique position to engage consumers and lead them to a brighter future.  So far, though, our industry hasn’t shown much leadership. America’s transportation needs are changing, and we believe it’s time our gas stations changed, too.

Matt Horton is CEO of Propel Fuels, www.propelfuels.com

Momentum has been growing for biodiesel as a way to diversify transportation’s energy use and reduce emissions. The renewable fuel, which is made from agricultural byproducts and co-products such as soybean oil, is also a boon for American farmers and many Midwestern states. As an example, the nation’s leading biodiesel state – Iowa – has 13 biodiesel plants and produced some 175 million gallons of biodiesel last year alone.

While automakers have historically been hesitant to warranty their engines for anything other than low blends like B5 – a mix of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent conventional diesel – that’s been changing. More than 65 percent of diesel engine and vehicle manufacturers selling equipment in the U.S. now publicly support the use of higher B20 biodiesel blends.

Still, the transition does not come without effort. The latest move: In a formal letter to every major diesel engine and vehicle manufacturer, the Midwestern Governors Association is seeking support for the use of biodiesel blends of at least 20 percent in all diesel-powered equipment. 

One of the challenges has been that not all advanced clean diesel engines are fully compatible with higher blends of biodiesel. Biodiesel interests like the MGA say that as biodiesel use grows in the marketplace, there are significant advantages to ensuring all diesel vehicles are compatible with higher blends.

There’s a lot at stake. The federal Renewable Fuels Standard-2 requires the use of higher levels of advanced biofuels over the next decade, and this could potentially grow the market for biodiesel as high as 5 billion gallons annually. Numbers like that are important in reducing reliance and imported oil…so let’s hope the manufacturers are listening.