Engineering and technology company Bosch, energy company Shell and automotive company Volkswagen announced today the launch of Blue Gasoline, a new low carbon fuel expected to result in reduced emissions of at least 20% per kilometer driven, from well-to-wheel. The gasoline adds to the lineup of low carbon fuels, including R33 Blue Diesel, launched in 2018.

Blue Gasoline is expected to be available at regular filling stations over the course of the year, starting in Germany. It can be distributed through the existing filling station network, and can be used in all new and existing vehicles for which Super 95 E10 gasoline has been approved.

The fuel contains up to 33% renewables, made up of biomass-based naphtha or ethanol certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system.

The launch comes as both Shell and Volkswagen are ramping up their own sustainability plans. Last month, Shell published its Energy Transition Strategy, and became the first major energy company to announce it would take its plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 to shareholders for an advisory vote at its upcoming AGM. Last week, Volkswagen outlined its “Way to Zero” plan, its strategy for decarbonizing the company and its products, and introduced a new interim target of a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions per vehicle in Europe by 2030.

Felix Balthasar, Manager Speciality Fuels at Shell, said:

“We’re pleased to present this counterpart to R33 Blue Diesel. Our new fuel now also takes gasoline engines a big step forward in terms of sustainability.”

Sebastian Willmann, head of Internal Combustion Engine Development at Volkswagen, added:

“Blue Gasoline is another building block in the effective reduction of CO₂ emissions from the vehicle fleet. Blue Gasoline’s high storage stability makes the fuel particularly suitable for use in plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the future, the expansion of the charging infrastructure and larger batteries will mean that these vehicles predominantly run on electrical power, and thus that fuel may remain in the fuel tank for longer periods of time.”

Shell announced that it will offset the remaining carbon emissions from the use of Blue Gasoline through certified offset arrangements.

Bosch explained that the use of renewable low-carbon and carbon-neutral fuels is not expected to replace vehicle electrification initiatives, but rather to complement them.

Dr. Uwe Gackstatter, President of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions division, said:

“On the road to climate-friendly mobility, we must ensure we don’t leave any technical opportunities untapped, starting with electromobility and ending with renewable fuels. Every bit of CO₂ we save can help us achieve our climate targets.”