Shell Plans Cleaner Second Generation of Biofuels

Royal Dutch Shell aims to develop a second generation of biofuels that diminishes their impact on climate change and competition with food crops, the company’s head of biofuels said on Friday.

And it is developing second generation fuel technologies using waste such as wood chips and straw, which avoid competing with food production and will emit up to 95 percent less CO2 than conventional gasoline, said Messem. “Second generation technologies offer a more sustainable way of delivering energy,” he said. Shell is currently in partnership with Canadian biotech firm Iogen Corp. producing biofuels from woodchip, eyeing production of up to 100 million litres per year from 2009. US ethanol capacity is expected to reach 6.3 billion gallons, or over 20 billion litres, per year at the end of 2006.

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