Shell has "considerable aspirations for growth" in biofuels

In Washington, Marvin Odom, president of Shell Oil in the US and director of the company’s Upstream Americas business, said he expects biofuels to be “the most practical solution” for GHG emission reductions in transport during the next 20 years and called on governments to give more subsidies in order to speed up production. Odom addressed the Energy Information Administration’s annual energy event in Washington DC.

“There are things we know and things we don’t,” Odom said. “One thing we know, demand for energy will increase. Too often, we don;t know what the regulatory environment will be. Certainties compel action.

“We know that biofuels are today’s most practical solution over the next twenty years; the delivery system for biofuels is the most similar to our existing infrastructure. The international biofuels market is growing, and the right policies could make that grow even faster.

“We all know that me must go beyond corn, with a combination of performance and CO2 reductions. Our JV with Cosan will produce 2 billion liters of ethanol this year, but we see this as just a starting point. We have considerable aspirations for growth.  we are working with Iogen, Codexis and Virent from lab towards commercial scale-up.

“Advanced biofuels will only reach significant commercial scale in 2020 and beyond, and it will take significant investment to get there. There’s been good work in the US and European governments on policy, but there’s a temptation to think that its enough. But more must be done to stimulate market-driven innovation, including reducing or eliminating import tariffs.”

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