Sweden's Saab leads drive to ethanol

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden -- By 2020, the Swedish government wants every new car on the road to run on fuels that can be replenished, and one of its car companies is already speeding toward that ambitious goal.

That means fossil fuels with limited supply, such as gasoline and diesel, will be out and that agriculturally produced biofuel -- ethanol -- will be in. Already, Saab Automobile Global has bought into the Swedish mandate, and so have many Swedish drivers. Ninety percent of the popular Saab 9-5s sold this year here, for instance, bear Saab's BioPower badge, which signifies a car that burns some ethanol. During a recent drive through Sweden they seemed ubiquitous. Eventually, all Saabs sold here will run on ethanol.

For now, so-called flex-fuel cars can run on a mixture of gasoline, diesel, and ethanol, with mixtures ranging from 10 percent ethanol to the currently popular E85, which is 85 percent ethanol, to 100 percent ethanol. In Sweden, the government has eliminated the tax on renewable fuels, making them cheaper than regular gasoline, cut sales taxes on biofuel vehicles, offered free parking in cities for cars that use biofuels, and set aside separate lanes for bio-taxis at airports.

"We need a closed circle of energy use," said Kjell Bergstrom, the engineer in charge of powertrains -- essentially the engine and driving mechanism of all cars -- for Saab's owner, General Motors Corp.

Bergstrom's "closed circle" refers to the plants -- cellulose in wood and forestry byproducts, sugar cane, switchgrass, corn, and other crops -- that use photosynthesis in the growing process to help recycle harmful carbon dioxide.

One problem with cars fueled by ethanol is that they have a 25 to 35 percent shorter travel range than gas-powered ones, Bergstrom said. Saab and other automakers hope to close that gap by using ethanol in applications with cleaner diesel, hybrid gasoline/electric engines, and turbocharged smaller engines, which develop more power than even some of the V-8s and even V-6s so popular in the United States.

The Volvo Car Corp., Sweden's other big auto manufacturer, has not disclosed formal plans on biofuels, as yet, but at this fall's Frankfurt International Auto show, plans for flex-fuel and hybrid cars are expected to be revealed.

For Swedish drivers, finding a place to fill their cars with ethanol is getting easier.

In 2004, Sweden had 140 biofuel stations. Today there are 850, and by 2009 the plan is for 2,500, plenty of stations in a country with around 5 million drivers.

But biofuels also present challenges, say Saab officials and environmentalists. For instance, Swedish officials have specified that the fertilizers used to grow ethanol sources such as corn, trees, or grasses, cannot create more pollution than the fuels eliminate.

Also, as in the case of corn, growing a crop for use as fuel instead of food can have a negative economic impact. In the United States, for instance, a higher demand for corn would raise the price of cattle that eat corn.

American car builders are producing ethanol-capable vehicles, mostly larger pickup trucks and some sedans.

There are 6 million flex-fuel vehicles on US roads, according to Steve Bantz, senior analyst and a biofuels specialist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, but availability of fueling stations "is a big issue." He said that the United States has only 1,200 to 1,300 fueling stations for its vast sprawl and mobile population.

But Sweden, long known for its concern with the environment, liberalism, and stylish yet Spartan approach to design and living, may be the perfect petri dish for this experiment.

Knut Simonsson, the global sales and marketing director for Saab, cited a study that showed conservative auto shoppers gravitate toward bigger cars.

"In the US," he said, "they want a Cadillac, a big V-8. In Europe, a Mercedes-Benz. But that's not us."

Bantz cautioned that, as with corn, it will be important to watch for the side effects of any biofuel production. And cold countries, such as Sweden, have limited potential to produce all the biomass they would need.

"A lot of Europe will be looking to the tropics to produce biomass," he said. "If we're mowing down rain forests, we're really missing the point.

But, he added, "We've got to start somewhere."

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.