Politically inconvenient truth about low emission cars
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Paul Betts
President Nicolas Sarkozy would dearly like to end France's rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) on a high note by brokering a deal on a grand European response to global warming and energy efficiency. The ultimate plan, as everybody knows, is to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent with member states at the same time drawing their future energy needs from clean renewable sources by the same percentage amount.
Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that the car industry has found itself at the heart of the climate change debate. In turn, all the manufacturers have been wrestling with the challenge of developing a new generation of cars that would significantly reduce petrol and diesel consumption as well as CO2 emissions.
Indeed, Mr Sarkozy's own government commissioned months ago one of France's leading energy experts - Jean Syrota, the former French energy industry regulator - to draw up a report to analyse all the options for building cleaner and more efficient mass-market cars by 2030. The 129-page report was completed in September to coincide with the Paris motor show. But the government has continued to sit on it and seems reluctant to ever publish it.
Yet all those who have managed to glimpse the document agree that it makes interesting reading. It concludes that there is not much future in the much vaunted development of all-electric-powered cars. Instead, it suggests that the traditional combustion engine powered by petrol, diesel, ethanol or new biofuels still offers the most realistic prospect of developing cleaner vehicles. Carbon emissions and fuel consumption could be cut by 30-40 per cent simply by improving the performance and efficiency of traditional engines and limiting the top speed to about 170 km/h. Even that is well above the average top speed restriction in Europe, with the notable exception of Germany. New so-called "stop and start" mechanisms can produce further 10 per cent reductions that can rise to 25-30 per cent in cities.
Overall, the Syrota report says that adapting and improving conventional engines could enhance their efficiency by an average of 50 per cent. It also argues that new generation hybrid cars combining conventional engines with electric propulsion could provide an interesting future alternative. Toyota has been leading the field in this sector and early this month Peugeot confirmed it was teaming up with Germany's Bosch to develop new hybrid models.
By combining electric batteries with conventional fuel-driven engines, cars could run on clean electricity for short urban trips while switching over to fuel on motorways. This would resolve one of the biggest problems facing all electric cars - the need to install costly battery recharging infrastructures. At the same time the report warns that the overall cost of an all-electric car remains unviable at about double that of a conventional vehicle. Battery technology is still unsatisfactory, severely limiting performance both in terms of range and speed.
The serious misgivings over the future of the electric car may explain why the French government appears to have spiked the report. To paraphrase Al Gore's blockbuster documentary on climate change, Paris may feel it is not the best of times to publicise the inconvenient truth about electric cars.
Flying high in Milan: Meanwhile, a new, smaller and more efficient Italian carrier has officially been launched recently from the ashes of the bankrupt Alitalia. But one big unresolved question is who will be its international partner?
From the beginning, Air France-KLM has been considered as the obvious candidate. After all, the Franco-Dutch carrier has long held a 2.0 per cent stake in the old Alitalia, which is also a member of its SkyTeam airline alliance. Indeed, the previous Rome government had tried and failed to orchestrate a merger with Air France.
But Lufthansa has also expressed strong interest in becoming the reborn airline's international and operational partner. It seems to be favoured by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who early this month suggested he did not really want to see Air France siphoning traffic out of Italy. Would the French be sending tourists to visit Italian cities or would they seek to fly Italians to the chateaux of the Loire, he asked.
For all Mr Berlusconi's misgivings, Air France still looks the favourite to take a 20-25 per cent stake in the new carrier. That said, Lufthansa has not lost hope claiming the game remains open. In any event, Lufthansa has already launched its own Italian services out of Milan's Malpensa airport. So whatever happens, the Milanese can only benefit. They could end up having the choice of flying with two leading international carriers with all the worldwide connections of their respective Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Frankfurt hubs.
President Nicolas Sarkozy would dearly like to end France's rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) on a high note by brokering a deal on a grand European response to global warming and energy efficiency. The ultimate plan, as everybody knows, is to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent with member states at the same time drawing their future energy needs from clean renewable sources by the same percentage amount.
Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that the car industry has found itself at the heart of the climate change debate. In turn, all the manufacturers have been wrestling with the challenge of developing a new generation of cars that would significantly reduce petrol and diesel consumption as well as CO2 emissions.
Indeed, Mr Sarkozy's own government commissioned months ago one of France's leading energy experts - Jean Syrota, the former French energy industry regulator - to draw up a report to analyse all the options for building cleaner and more efficient mass-market cars by 2030. The 129-page report was completed in September to coincide with the Paris motor show. But the government has continued to sit on it and seems reluctant to ever publish it.
Yet all those who have managed to glimpse the document agree that it makes interesting reading. It concludes that there is not much future in the much vaunted development of all-electric-powered cars. Instead, it suggests that the traditional combustion engine powered by petrol, diesel, ethanol or new biofuels still offers the most realistic prospect of developing cleaner vehicles. Carbon emissions and fuel consumption could be cut by 30-40 per cent simply by improving the performance and efficiency of traditional engines and limiting the top speed to about 170 km/h. Even that is well above the average top speed restriction in Europe, with the notable exception of Germany. New so-called "stop and start" mechanisms can produce further 10 per cent reductions that can rise to 25-30 per cent in cities.
Overall, the Syrota report says that adapting and improving conventional engines could enhance their efficiency by an average of 50 per cent. It also argues that new generation hybrid cars combining conventional engines with electric propulsion could provide an interesting future alternative. Toyota has been leading the field in this sector and early this month Peugeot confirmed it was teaming up with Germany's Bosch to develop new hybrid models.
By combining electric batteries with conventional fuel-driven engines, cars could run on clean electricity for short urban trips while switching over to fuel on motorways. This would resolve one of the biggest problems facing all electric cars - the need to install costly battery recharging infrastructures. At the same time the report warns that the overall cost of an all-electric car remains unviable at about double that of a conventional vehicle. Battery technology is still unsatisfactory, severely limiting performance both in terms of range and speed.
The serious misgivings over the future of the electric car may explain why the French government appears to have spiked the report. To paraphrase Al Gore's blockbuster documentary on climate change, Paris may feel it is not the best of times to publicise the inconvenient truth about electric cars.
Flying high in Milan: Meanwhile, a new, smaller and more efficient Italian carrier has officially been launched recently from the ashes of the bankrupt Alitalia. But one big unresolved question is who will be its international partner?
From the beginning, Air France-KLM has been considered as the obvious candidate. After all, the Franco-Dutch carrier has long held a 2.0 per cent stake in the old Alitalia, which is also a member of its SkyTeam airline alliance. Indeed, the previous Rome government had tried and failed to orchestrate a merger with Air France.
But Lufthansa has also expressed strong interest in becoming the reborn airline's international and operational partner. It seems to be favoured by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who early this month suggested he did not really want to see Air France siphoning traffic out of Italy. Would the French be sending tourists to visit Italian cities or would they seek to fly Italians to the chateaux of the Loire, he asked.
For all Mr Berlusconi's misgivings, Air France still looks the favourite to take a 20-25 per cent stake in the new carrier. That said, Lufthansa has not lost hope claiming the game remains open. In any event, Lufthansa has already launched its own Italian services out of Milan's Malpensa airport. So whatever happens, the Milanese can only benefit. They could end up having the choice of flying with two leading international carriers with all the worldwide connections of their respective Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Frankfurt hubs.