MAZDA

Mazda2 Bio Concept, a 100% biodiesel-powered racing vehicle

The sun starts to wake up at Fuji International Speedway, the circuit where the 'Super Taikyu Series Fuji 24 Hours' takes place, the second stage of the 'ENEOS Super Taikyu Series Powered by Hankook'. This endurance test is already more than halfway through in terms of duration and the smell of cooking oil lingers in the air, at which time meals are being prepared. Far from the imagination of most, inside Box #27, the mechanics of the Mazda Spirit Racing team are also using this ingredient, used cooking oil that is combined with microalgae fats, intended to fuel the #55 vehicle that circulates on the track.

Mazda competes in the ST-Q class, reserved exclusively for non-homologated special vehicles, a category where manufacturers can enter and test experimental vehicles. In the case of Mazda, the option focused on the Mazda2 Bio Concept, a vehicle 100% fueled by biodiesel produced from used cooking oil and microalgae fats. This event is not, therefore, just an assessment of the skills of the drivers and the Mazda Spirit Racing Team structure, it is a test that could change the direction to follow in the future of Mazda itself.

Although the world is rapidly transitioning to the BEV concept, a change largely driven by the 'European Green Deal', which set the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, among EU nations, many questions remain regarding the pursuit of a purely electric automobile. For example, is the electricity used to power these vehicles generated from environmentally friendly sources? Are the original materials used in the manufacture of batteries sustainable and also environmentally friendly? What about nations where electricity is not yet readily available to everyone?

These and many other issues deserve a careful approach by Mazda. “We propose a multi-solution approach that allows us to offer different types of propulsion, depending on the policies of each country or region”, says Akira Marumoto, President & CEO of Mazda Motor Corporation.

So, in addition to making the MX-30 EV available in its model portfolio and continuously developing and improving its engines and technologies in terms of their compatibility with existing infrastructures around the world, Mazda is also researching potential sources of energy alternatives to oil.

Mazda and Green Fuels...Mazda firmly believes in the positive contribution to the decarbonisation of mobility through the use of so-called e-fuels produced from clean energy sources, as these are also 100% carbon neutral.

Their development should play an important role in facilitating the transition to clean mobility by 2050, as they can provide a significant reduction in CO2 emissions over the life cycle and a neutral operation in terms of that same carbon dioxide, not only for new electrified vehicles, and in particular for the existing car fleet, a capability that no other technology can provide.

In addition, ecological fuels will be fully compatible and can be combined with existing conventional fuels in any proportion, and will be replaced as production volume increases, which will facilitate their introduction into the market.

Used cooking oil and microalgae fats...The Mazda2 Bio is one strand of Mazda's multi-solutions approach. In 2018, Mazda was involved in 'Your Green Fuel', a project of a consortium formed in Hiroshima between the automobile industry, academic leaders and government bodies, which resulted in a partnership with Euglena, a Japanese company that aims to mass production of next-generation biodiesel, operating a commercial plant from 2025.

Called 'SUSTEO', Euglena's next generation biodiesel is produced entirely from Japanese products and is officially recognized as diesel by Japanese Industrial Standards. It consists of a combination of petroleum and fats with Euglena microalgae and used cooking oil. This is the key to carbon neutrality. As suggested by the designation 'bio' in its name, this type of diesel is created from the use of biomass, such as plants and microalgae. Since they absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is neutral when using this fuel in a vehicle.

It is also unique in that, unlike conventional biofuels made from maize or other raw materials, it does not pose problems such as food competition or deforestation. Another advantage of next-generation biofuel is that it can be used by cars already on our roads today, using existing infrastructure.

Autonews