The news that Ford has developed a new diesel engine… code-named Scorpion… to put in its 2011 F-Series Super Duty diesel pickups will be fully compatible with a 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) (see my post from yesterday) is being welcomed by the National Biodiesel Board:
“This is the first of what we expect to be many formal announcements of B20 approval in new clean diesel technology,” said Steve Howell, technical director for the National Biodiesel Board. “With the formal approval and acceptance of B20 in the 2011 Super Duty, Ford now has a clean and green engine of tomorrow that will also reduce NOx emissions by more than 80 percent. NBB already has inquiries from biodiesel fans wanting to purchase a new B20 pickup!”
The NBB and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have spent more than $10 million testing B20 and understanding how it works in the new diesel engines and after-treatment technology during the last five years. That’s in addition to research and development efforts by the individual Original Equipment Manufacturers like Ford. The new F-Series engines were torture-tested internally by Ford to more than 250,000 miles to test their durability cycles with multiple biodiesel blends, according to the company.
“It’s rewarding to see the efforts by NBB and NREL start to pay off,” said Howell, noting that most of the NBB funding for the testing was provided by U.S. soybean farmers through the soybean checkoff program. “The engine makers asked for an ASTM B20 blended standard, in addition to the pure biodiesel standard, and we worked hard to get it passed.”
NBB goes on to point out that Ford has nearly half of the on-road diesel truck market in this country, so there could be some big implications with this news. Can’t wait to see the reactions when these engines start arriving in new trucks in the first half of next year!