Shell to Use V-Power Diesel Mixed With Biofuel at Le Mans 24-Hour Race

Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it will be using a second-generation biofuel mixed with its V-Power diesel race fuel, for the first time at the 24-hours Le Mans race in France.

Shell’s V-Power diesel includes a synthetic gas to liquids (GTL) fuel made from natural gas, which reportedly provides clean and efficient combustion.

A small amount of Shell’s new biomass to liquid (BTL) biofuel will be blended into the Shell V-Power diesel together with the established GTL component, which is already being produced at a commercial scale and has been used in the Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel since 2006.

Shell has stated that the BTL biofuel is a synthetic diesel fuel made from non-food biomass, such as forest residues and waste wood, and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel.

Through its collaboration with German company Choren Industries, Shell is working to develop BTL fuels. A Choren facility has produced the BTL blended into the Shell V-Power diesel being used at Le Mans. Choren’s demonstration commercial plant in Freiberg, Germany, is due to start producing fuel within 12 months.

Richard Karlstetter, Shell global technology manager for racing fuels, said: “It is still early commercial days for BTL but Shell sees motorsport as a technical test bed and we are excited about demonstrating the performance of Shell V-Power diesel race fuel with both GTL and BTL.”