Scania launches biodiesel pilot in Côte d'Ivoire

Sustainably produced biofuels from waste are currently the best option to rapidly reduce emissions from most of the public transport systems in African countries. Biofuel used as biodiesel will lower carbon emissions by up to 80%, and by even more when used as biogas. Recent studies have shown that biofuels will be vital for decarbonising heavy-duty transport over the next few decades, for both new and existing fleets.

In 2017, Scania initiated a collaboration with Agence Nationale d'Appui au Développement Rural (ANADER), a public agency that supports rural development in Côte d'Ivoire, to find opportunities for producing local biofuels from cocoa and rubber, as well as other agricultural waste and animal manure, all of which are present in abundance in the country.

In July 2022, ANADER, Scania and TotalEnergies, a multinational energy company, signed an agreement to develop a pilot project to produce 3 500 litres of FAME biodiesel from rubber seeds and test it for 30 days in a Scania bus operated by the local Abidjan transport company, SOTRA.

"Together with our partners, we adopted a holistic and step-by-step approach to reduce the carbon footprint and air pollution from our buses," said Nicolas Lougovoy, Head of Strategic Projects for the Africa, Middle East and Central Asia region at Scania.

Over the past year, Scania has delivered 400 biodiesel compatible standard buses and 50 biogas compatible articulated buses to SOTRA, as part of its Sustainable Transport Project with the Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Transport.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/10112023/scania-launches-biodiesel-pilot-in-cte-divoire/