Cutting-edge research happening right here at the Chevron Richmond Technology Center is being featured as part of a three-part series on Discovery+, Discovery Go and MotorTrend TV.
“Driving Decarbonizing in America” takes a deep dive into how government agencies, automakers and energy companies are collaborating in various innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions on roadways. Pioneering research at the Chevron Richmond Technology Center is featured among the innovations.
Episode 2 of the series highlights Chevron’s work in blending farming byproducts like soybean oil with petroleum, which creates a lower-carbon-emitting gasoline that could reduce emissions in millions of vehicles that are already on the roads if produced at scale. The new fuel blend functions like traditional gasoline and was recently used by Toyota to fuel shipments of new vehicles, including hybrids, the automaker said.
Chevron believes this fuel blend represents an opportunity to reduce carbon intensity in transportation.
“It is as competitive as electric vehicles on the road today on a life cycle basis,” Dr. Nuray Ecli, VP of Renewables at Chevron, states in the episode.
The series airing on MotorTrend TV notes the importance of looking at carbon emissions in terms of the lifecycle of a vehicle. That means looking at emissions that occur from the time a vehicle is built until the time it is no longer operable, rather than just what comes from tailpipes. While the EV industry and renewable sources like solar and wind are gaining traction and making a difference, much more can be done to reduce the carbon footprint of vehicles over their lifecycle.
“There is no single fix to reduce the carbon intensity of the transportation industry,” Dr. Elci said, adding, “We’re trying to meet the growing energy needs of the world while reducing the carbon intensity at the same time, and trying to make sure energy is affordable, reliable and ever cleaner.”
“Driving Decarbonizing in America” was produced by Bader Media Group, funded by Toyota and hosted by Ross Butler, with field reporting from Neka Zang and Ariana Cohen. Watch the full episode here.
