NEWS RELEASE
German car giants outsmarted by Brazilian sugar cane
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Berlin, 5 September 2005 –
While economic growth forecasts for leading industrial nations are
overshadowed by fuel price volatilities, Brazil has taken the lead in a
quiet transport revolution, reducing
significantly its dependence on foreign oil supplies. According to the
Brazilian Ministry of Transport most of Brazil’s 20 million cars run already
on gasoline mixed with 25% of sugar cane generated ethanol; and an ever
increasing number of new cars in Brazil drive on 100% ethanol. Alfred Szwarc,
energy specialist and adviser to UNICA, the Sao Paulo Sugarcane Agroindustry
Union, points out that over the past 30 years, Brazil has been producing
ethanol from sugar cane and using it in automobiles across the country. “It
is high time that industrialized countries start to use gasoline mixed with
ethanol to mitigate their volatility to rocketing oil prices and to help
stop global warming”, says Szwarc.
Brazil has the capabilities to turn into one of the worlds’ largest bio fuel
exporters, as a fleet of ethanol tankers will help to feed the energy hungry
economies of India, China and Korea. Even in the U.S., with its poor record
on climate change, 3% of the total fuel consumption will be secured through
bio fuels in 2005. Doubling the green fuels capacity of the world’s largest
car market from its 1,5% level in 2001.
”Germany has clearly lost the lead in the global clean transport technology
race and we have to catch up fast”, warns Johannes Lackmann, president of
the German Renewables Trade Association. “We may be still the largest
producer of bio diesel but rather surprisingly German car manufacturers and
industry lobbies have put the breaks on clean technology and infrastructure
innovation.”
Lackmann, who will be speaking at CETEX Germany, the first major energy and
transport industry forum following the German general election later this
year, comments: “Bio fuels are on average 20% cheaper for consumers than
conventional fuels and energy costs will only stop rising if we replace oil
and gas imported goods in great quantities with renewable fuel sources.”
Renewable energies in Germany replace already 5.4 million tons of crude oil
and 5.3 billion cubic meter of natural gas per year.
Meanwhile, Ernst Ludwig Winnacker, the president of the Deutsche Forschungs
Gesellschaft (industry research council), gave a stern warning to the German
automobile industry not to miss crucial car innovation trends. "There are
cars in the world, which offer the same performance by using only half the
amount of gasoline. I find it alarming that German car manufacturers can’t
supply this technology today", said Winnacker in an interview with the
Financial Times. –Ends-
Press Contacts:
Halo Energy Ombiasy GmbH
Ralph Kappler Annette Schiller
Tel. +49 30 31017519 Tel. +49 341 35520211
rkappler@halo-energy.com a.schiller@ombiasy.com
Disclaimer: Find further information on CETEX Germany,
taking place from 8th – 9th December 2005 in Berlin, at:
www.Cetex-Germany.com. Ombiasy GmbH, the CETEX organiser, is an
international energy congress firm with offices in Berlin, Frankfurt,
Leipzig, Munich, Brisbane, and Washington; Halo Energy (www.halo-energy.com)
is the first independent communications consultancy for renewable energy
projects.
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