Biomass R&D Committee Tours General Motors and Test Drives their FFVs at Quarterly Meeting

by Mike Manella, BCS, Incorporated

On September 10-11, 2007, the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee (Committee) met in Detroit, Michigan for its quarterly meeting. The Committee provides technical advice on biomass research and development to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy and is comprised of approximately 30 experts in biomass technology from both academia and industry located throughout the United States. The Committee meets quarterly to discuss various biomass technologies, hear from regional experts, and develop their annual recommendations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy.

The Committee discussed finalizing its Roadmap for Bioenergy and Biobased Products in the United States, heard presentations from regional experts in biomass R&D technologies, and finalized its recommendations to the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture. In addition, this meeting was highlighted by a tour of the General Motors Milford Proving Grounds – a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to emissions and road testing. The Committee heard presentations from GM’s executive staff and learned more about GM’s efforts in biofuels. The Committee members also enjoyed an hour-long test-drive of over two dozen of GM’s flex-fuel/hybrid vehicles on the driving course. 

The GM Milford Proving Grounds first opened in 1924 and is the oldest test track of its kind in the United States. The area covers 4,000 acres (16 km²), equivalent of 132 miles of two-lane highway. Currently, more than 4,000 employees work at the site, where vehicle development, testing and validation is conducted as a critical milestone in GM’s vehicle development process.

In 2006, Chrysler, Ford and GM committed 50 percent of their automobile production to be flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) by 2012. Starting in 2009, a variety of new E85 vehicles will start to appear as a result of this commitment. GM has 12 flex-fuel models in North America for the 2008 model year, while 95 percent of its product portfolio is flex-power in Latin America. GM also has a BioPower program in Europe in early stages of deployment, in partnership with the Saab BioPower. 

Emissions testing and compliance is an important aspect of deploying FFVs into the marketplace, thereby encouraging greater use of biofuels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts emissions testing on randomly procured in-use vehicles at the National Vehicle and Fuels Emission Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This laboratory which regulates the automotive industry is conveniently located near GM’s Milford proving grounds. Vehicle manufacturers are required to design and build their vehicles to meet emission standards for the useful life of the vehicle specified by law. Under Section 207 of the Clean Air Act, if EPA determines that a substantial number of vehicles in a class or category do not meet emission standards in actual use even though they are properly maintained and used, EPA can require the manufacturer to recall and fix the affected vehicles.

The vehicles are screened for proper use and maintenance, and then tested for emissions compliance in the laboratory. If problems are found, discussions begin with the manufacturer on possible remedies, which may include a recall of the affected vehicles.

The Committee will utilize the experience and information gained from the General Motors tour in submitting its annual recommendations to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy at its upcoming meeting in November. The Committee will continue to participate in similar activities next year in order to gain a better understanding of current efforts in biomass R&D technologies and its infrastructure development in the United States.

Note: Pictures of vehicles included in this article display alternative fuel vehicles produced by General Motors.