Future Fuels

Shell has more than 100 years of experience developing the technology and services that make us a leading provider of innovative and new fuels. As a result, Shell currently has one of the broadest fuel portfolios, as well as the capability and the commitment to help to meet the transportation needs of customers and society now and in the future.

Shell has been distributing biofuels for more than 30 years, and we believe that we are now the world’s largest distributor of first generation transport biofuels. In the northeastern U.S. and southern California, the world’s biggest markets, around 80 percent of all ethanol sold flows through Shell and Motiva facilities.

In 2005, we sold around 800 million gallons, mainly in the U.S. and Brazil - enough to avoid around three (3) million tons of CO2. Typical corn ethanol produced in the U.S. can reduce ‘Well to Wheels’ CO2 production by around 30 percent (or 3 percent for a 10 percent ethanol blend).

We see leadership in second-generation biofuels as strategically important. In 2007, we quadrupled our rate of investment in this area. We have specialists in India, the Netherlands, the UK and the U.S. working on research.

Shell was one of the first energy companies to invest in second generation biofuels. These are made from non-food feedstocks, such as straw or woodchips, and can offer significant reductions in CO2 and better engine performance. Used neat (100 percent concentration), second generation biofuels could reduce ‘Well to Wheel’ CO2 production by around 90 percent compared to conventional gasoline or diesel fuel.

Shell is a partner with a Canadian company, Iogen, using enzymes to make ethanol from straw. Iogen and its partners have operated a demonstration plant since 2004 and are now assessing the design and feasibility of a fullscale commercial plant.

We are also partners with German firm CHOREN to produce fuel from wood residue. The world’s first commercial demonstration plant for this technology is due to open in 2008.

In 2007, we teamed up with Codexis to develop new "super enzymes" that can convert non-food biomass into biofuels more efficiently.

We also announced the construction of a pilot plant in Hawaii, in a joint venture called Cellana with HRBiopetroleum, to turn marine algae into biomass that can be used as a feedstock for biofuel. Marine algae, which is rich in vegetable oil, can be cultivated in ponds of seawater, minimising the use of fertile land and fresh water.

And in March 2008 we began working with Virent to develop technology to turn the sugars from plants directly into gasoline instead of having to produce ethanol first. This could potentially eliminate the need for specialised equipment to transport and blend the biofuel and new engine designs to use it.

Shell Hydrogen is a global business of the Shell Group with headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and regional bases in Houston and Tokyo. Shell Hydrogen was set up in 1999 to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells.

The goal of Shell Hydrogen is to provide safe, reliable and affordable hydrogen fuel to customers when and where they need it and to create value from developing technologies that enable fuel cells to come to market.

To accomplish this, we are bringing hydrogen capability to select Shell stations in the New York and Los Angeles metro areas to demonstrate the viability of a fuel infrastructure. Working with the respective state governments to demonstrate that we can produce the infrastructure and car manufacturers can produce the vehicles, we hope to see ever-increasing numbers of fuel cell vehicles on the road in these two cities.

Hydrogen Innovation in Action
In Washington, D.C., General Motors Corp. (GM) and Shell Hydrogen LLC (“Shell”) are combining resources to help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a commercially viable reality. This initiative represents an important step forward in the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

• This partnership features the nation’s first hydrogen dispenser at a Shell retail gas station to support a GM fleet of fuel cell vehicles. This station has been in operation since November 2004, providing storage and the dispensing of both liquid and gaseous hydrogen in a retail environment.
• Shell and GM also are working together to extend the hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle network as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project, which was announced in April 2004.

In California, Shell is a key member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP), with some 20 partners from the automotive and energy industries, fuel cell developers and government.

• The partners are cooperating closely to understand how vehicles, fuels and technology can jointly deliver sound commercial solutions to a large population faced with growing energy supply and air-quality challenges, that also expects higher environmental standards.

Leaders at Shell are working with major automotive manufacturers and other major oil companies to develop a hydrogen infrastructure to support a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Automobiles powered by hydrogen are on their way to becoming a commercial reality in the next 10 to 15 years.