La Rochelle and the Island of Ré are now being connected by a fleet of nine ecological buses with one unique ecological characteristic: they run on a fuel made from biowaste from wine production.
The Nouvelle Aquitaine region and the transportation company Transdev have launched a fleet of buses to connect La Rochelle with the Island of Ré, a rather busy line and a source of pollution. In order to tackle this problem, these buses, manufactured by Scania, run on second-generation bioethanol, also called ED95.
This fuel is produced by the company Raisinor, based in Coutras (Gironde). It recycles residues from wine production to convert them into fuel. The sugar from the marc (formed by the skin and seeds of the grapes) is fermented to be turned into raw alcohol, then distilled and dehydrated to obtain bioethanol. To this is added 5% of non-petroleum additive.
Thanks to these buses, the environmental impact is reduced considerably. They allow for a reduction of 85% in greenhouse gas emissions, 50% in nitrogen oxide and 70% in fine particles. The Nouvelle Aquitaine region will invest 2,395 million euros [2,692 million USD] over a 6-year period to set up this new fleet. These clean buses represent an additional cost of 80,000 euros [89,932 USD] compared to the diesel model, and require an investment of 28,000 euros [31,476 USD] for the installation of the bioethanol tank.
Source: bfmtv.com