Frankfurt motor show: Ford plans diesel with single-digit emissions

Ford has announced a research programme in co-operation with the German government and Aachen University to produce a new family of diesel-like fuels which could, potentially, give an internal combustion engine similar Co2 emissions to that of an electric car, as well as virtually eliminating dangerous carcinogenic particulate soot.

Dimethyl ether (DME), and oxymethylene ether (OME1) can both be produced as an offshoot from current, conventional oil and gas refining processes, and in spite of their heavy-duty scientific names, are already in common use in the chemical industry – one as a non-toxic aerosol propellant, the other as an industrial solvent.

From Ford’s point of view, the nice thing about both fuels is that they’re very, very clean to burn, almost totally eliminating the current problem of diesel engines producing particulate soot – which is both carcinogenic and can cause severe respiratory problems. Better still, there is the potential for both liquids to be created away from the current oil refining system, and to actually use carbon dioxide gathered from the atmosphere to create artificial liquid forms of both fuels.

"The Co2 produced by a car powered by DME from renewable sources could be comparable to the amount generated by a marathon runner covering the same distance – but with performance similar to a diesel powered vehicle," said Werner Willems, technical specialist , Powertrain Combustion Systems, Ford of Europe. "This is a project that could help place vehicles with a significantly reduced carbon dioxide and particulate emissions on the market at affordable costs."

According to Ford, the well-to-wheel emissions of DME fuels, which takes into account their total carbon emissions generated in extracting them, refining them and transporting them, could be as low as 3g/km. To put that in context, the well-to-wheel emissions of a current electric car, based on Ireland’s mix of coal, gas and wind-generated electricity, is about 60g/km.

"The growth of the world's population is putting ever-increasing demands on energy and especially fossil fuels. Alternative, renewable fuels like methyl ethers will play a pivotal role in the future," said Andreas Schamel, Ford's director Global Powertrain Research & Advanced Engineering. "DME is safe, burns cleaner than conventional diesel, and most importantly is versatile. The energy generated from solar, wind and other renewables can be stored within the fuel itself, and this enables DME and OME1 to be used across a range of applications."

Ford isn't the first company to investigate the possibilities of lab-produced diesel – Audi last year announced that it was going to start creating its own 'e-Diesel' based on similar processes.