2013 Mercedes-Benz G Class

Experts say petrol to remain dominant fuel of the future

 
9 1,498 views Apr 17, 2008
Follow Viknesh

Experts say petrol to remain dominant fuel of the future

Experts say petrol to remain dominant fuel of the future

Carmakers and consumers alike are faced with several different options for alternative fuel motoring with petrol, diesel and now biodiesel, compressed natural gas and ethanol increasing in popularity, but at this stage it’s still anyone’s guess as to what will be the dominant fuel source of the future. Asked the experts and they’ll tell you petrol isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon.

Speaking at this week’s SAE World Congress in Detroit, a panel of experts said gasoline will continue to dominate until the industry begins mass production of fuel cells and other electrically powered vehicles.

Joseph Kaufman, manager of fuels and vehicle trends at petroleum producer ConocoPhillips told Automotive News that petroleum-based fuels, as well as liquid biofuels that can be blended into them, will continue to carry most of the energy load in most countries for the next few decades. Internal combustion engines will continue to dominate, he said, even as they become more sophisticated.

Ethanol has been widely touted as a good replacement for petrol but there are fears the generation of the fuel uses more energy than what’s given off. The panelists disputed this belief but said there remained issues such as ethanol's effect on land use and the availability of food crops cannot be ignored.

The U.S. government has set goals to increase ethanol production and a number of carmakers such as GM have entered partnerships with biofuel production firms to help further the rollout of the ethanol fuelling stations. Though it looks like petrol will continue to dominate, its market share is likely to decrease substantially in the near term.



Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
Comments (9)

  1. By Gus Posted: 4/17/2008 7:51pm PDT

    Told you.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  2. By Foxfire Posted: 4/18/2008 3:09am PDT

    "...a panel of experts said gasoline will continue to dominate until the industry begins mass production of fuel cells and other electrically powered vehicles."

    LOL, no shit!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  3. By BAUMM III Posted: 4/18/2008 6:47am PDT

    Now that is said, let's have streamlined and light cars to go over 100 MPG!
    No need to wait, isn't?
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  4. By chris Posted: 4/18/2008 8:07am PDT

    boooo. yahhhhhhh. b****es.

    not that the rest of the material on this site is junk or anything but this is probably the best piece of writing I've seen on here for sure, if not anywhere. Clear, Concise, and Complete. open and shut case.

    like i've been saying all along: the first step is hybridization. that can be done now, with definite gains. this can be used to open the door for research into battery tech which will prove to have gains steadily and quickly. at some point the car will become more electric than it is gasoline (the volt), and then the car has become an electrical engineering endeavor instead of a mechanical one. the research will go from ICE design to electrical motor design, and who knows, maybe the automotive industry will be the one industry that puts enough money into R&D to find the illusive "room temperature super conductor" (no this isnt something that is 1000 years in the future... super conductors are used in a lot of equipment on a daily basis). the electric motors will get more efficient, the batteries will too, and by the time fuel cells get down in price, we'll maybe have the option to go to hydrogen, if the infrastructure can be implemented and a solid supply of it can be determined.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  5. By mlevere1992 Posted: 4/18/2008 9:51am PDT

    Don't you think it is kind of interesting that the pannel of experts are from Petrol companies? Sure they are going to say that petrol is going to be the dominate fule of the future. If they didn't their stock share prices would go down.

    It is going to take a big effort for the automotive industry and the public to embrace these new technologies.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  6. By chris Posted: 4/18/2008 10:00am PDT

    mlevere:

    SAE = society of automotive engineers. these are the most qualified people to provide an educated guess regarding the dominant fuel in the future.

    the fact remains that we have a huge industry based around petrol and diesel. it wont go away any time soon.

    these people dont have any ties to petroleum. yes, they're used to working with it, but engineers jump at the opportunity to do something new and different. the fact remains that theres a rediculous amount of energy in petroleum, and we know of a lot of different ways to tap that energy efficiently. the only problem is that until recently, there's been little motivation for anyone to put a lot of money into an advanced engine, because no one would have bought it.

    if you can make an engine that costs twice as much, but gets 50% better mileage, then you can make a car that gets better mileage than a prius, that would sell for much less.

    the problem is, 10 years ago, no one would have bought a small car that got 50% better mileage at the cost of being 20k base, instead of the industry norm of 13k base. now people can see that you could recoup 7 grand in gas prices, but more importantly, everyones been scared by some turd with a power point file.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  7. By Crystal Posted: 4/18/2008 12:18pm PDT

    Though it looks like petrol will dominant, its market share is likely to decrease substantially in the near term.

    .... will dominate ...
    .... will be dominant ....

    :)
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  8. By Germandude Posted: 4/18/2008 12:54pm PDT

    I don't know why EVs shouldn't become mainstream in near future. They will have overcome the problem with the crappy mileage soon, mass production will make the cars affordable and we already have a huge electricity grid.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  9. By MyWheelsOnWalls.com Posted: 4/18/2008 5:16pm PDT

    The oil companies earn tens of billions a year in profits yet last year (according to the Clinton News Network) invested a meager $100 million in alternative fuels. Hardly an industry in fear of losing dominance!

    Of course they will be the fuel of choice.

    What you will see is a huge influx of diesls in the U.S. and Hybrids will go the way of the dinasaur (batteries need to go some where when your finished with them) followed much later by a viable alternative fuel. I'd say we dont even know what that is yet either.

    In the mean time vehicle weight will drop drastically and engines will sip even less fuel than what they do now. I mean alot less. Look at the 70's cars were way down on power in a huge way due to pollution/emission control devices and here we are four decades later with even tighter restrictions and cars such as the Bugatti Veyron which meets all those rules!!

    P.S. Please drive your Bugatti Veyron's as often and as fast as you can. Particulary through central London and waive to Uncle Ken in the process. (Incase any of you were wondering where I stand in regards to the use of petroleum)
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Connect with Facebook

Motor Authority. Now with your friends.

Discover stories your friends read.
Share stories more easily.
You control what you share.
Learn more

Research New Cars

Go!


More from High Gear Media

 
 
MotorAuthority
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2011 MotorAuthority. All Rights Reserved. MotorAuthority is published by High Gear Media. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC. Send us feedback.