Prof. Hans Werner Sinn, President of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, The DB Doran Lecture on Population, Resources and Development 4 May 2010 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Social Sciences, Is it really a wise and ethically acceptable strategy to burn food rather than eat it? This is one the key questions addressed by Prof. Hans Werner Sinn, President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, who spoke at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on ‘Table or Tank: The Rivalry between Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and Nutrition’. Oil pressed from rapeseed can be used as diesel fuel, and maize or sugar beets can yield ethanol to replace gasoline. The UN and many countries officially share the view that bio-fuel is one option in fighting climate change. The Kyoto Protocol allows countries to meet their target reductions of CO2 emissions by substituting bio-fuels for fossil fuels. However, Prof. Sinn says, ”If we allow food to be used to produce bio-fuels, food prices will be linked to the oil price. Indeed, food prices are currently increasing in Europe, because more and more farmland is being used for bio-fuels instead of for food production. This is not sustainable” ”The problem is that advocates of reducing the greenhouse effect by promoting bio-fuels production have not made clear where the land will come from.” This, explains, Prof. Sinn, means that taking land for the production of bio-fuels from forests means speeding up global warming, because bio-fuel …

Hybrid vehicles that are even more efficient. (Credit: Image courtesy of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)

One of the controllable causes of global warming is carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from burning fossil fuels. This process is precisely what enables most cars to function by means of combustion engines. In recent years, some companies in the automobile sector have brought out models that combine a standard combustion engine with an electric one. These are known as hybrids, and they produce less pollution. In his final thesis, Toni Font, who recently graduated from the ETSEIB, proposed a way to make these vehicles more efficient.

The proposal is based on one of the problems of conventional vehicles: the loss of kinetic energy during braking. This waste of energy leads to very high fuel consumption and, consequently, to an increase in CO2 emissions. Under the supervision of Ramon Costa, lecturer at the Department of Automatic Control (ESAII), Toni Font has focused on solving this problem. According to Ramon Costa, “The project modifies the structure of conventional cars to introduce elements that help to recover lost energy and reinject it into the system. It is made up of two parts: one related to hardware components, and one to software components”.

The study proposes the installation of a supercapacitor battery and the creation of software to coordinate and manage the new elements. The supercapacitators facilitate the work of the battery, as they prevent current peaks that can diminish performance and transfer the remaining energy. The software envisages four operational modes for the vehicle, which depend on the propulsion system. As the most suitable motor is activated for the type of driving, this technology brings about energy savings and reduces CO2 emissions. In a standard driving cycle, the modifications lead to up to 67% less fuel consumption and up to 63% less energy consumption than a conventional vehicle of the same size with no hybrid components. In addition, it uses 55% less energy than a standard hybrid vehicle.

Energy and transport management
With respect to the applications of his work, Toni Font explained that, “It could be used in sectors related to energy generation and management that aim to work in the most sustainable and efficient way possible. It could also be applied to the areas of the transport sector that use petrol and diesel motors”.

As a result of this research, Toni Font has received one of the six research grants that Ferrari will award in 2009, in the category of CO2 emissions reduction. The ETSEIB student is the only Spaniard to participate in the programme, which is funded by the Maranello-based company.

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. “Hybrid Vehicles That Are Even More Efficient.” ScienceDaily