Ricardo launches biodiesel consortium

Ricardo has announced the formation of a consortium to evaluate the impact of biofuels on current and future light-duty engine technologies.

Part-funded by the Department for Transport, the consortium will be open to manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers, oil companies and government agencies to address the challenges of increased biofuel usage.

Craig Goodfellow, Ricardo project director for fuels and lubricants, says: "The increasing use of biofuels offers some potentially attractive benefits like reduced carbon emissions and increased energy security however, for biodiesel in particular, the challenge of creating stable and consistent supplies of fuel for engineering the powertrain system to operate without detriment to performance and durability is complex and considerable."

Applications are still open, and interested parties can contact F&LConsortium@ricardo.com