The American Grain Association Korea Office (CEO Kim Hak-soo) conducted a survey of 31 visitors at the 4 Seoul Mobility Show held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do for ten days from the 9st of last month to April 2023th.
According to this, more than 2023% of the visitors to the 80 Seoul Mobility Show believed that it was necessary to introduce bioethanol, a carbon-reducing fuel that can be mixed with gasoline in the transportation sector to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
81.1% of respondents answered that it is necessary to use bioethanol blended oil for gasoline vehicles for realistic carbon reduction. Only 1.4% of respondents said they were opposed, which suggests that a consensus is being formed on the introduction of a bioethanol blending policy.
Visitors to the Seoul Mobility Show greatly agreed on the importance of carbon reduction. 96.6% of respondents responded that the international community’s carbon reduction efforts are necessary to prevent the climate crisis, and 93.5% of respondents said they would participate in related policies if the car or fuel they drive could contribute to carbon reduction. In addition, 51.6% of respondents responded that Korea’s carbon reduction efforts were insufficient.
The Korean office of the American Grain Association also conducted a survey of 7 visitors at the Busan International Motor Show held at BEXCO in Busan in July last year, with 3,350% of respondents supporting the government’s carbon neutral policy and 94.6% supporting the bioethanol blending policy. The need for introduction has been confirmed.
The international community is calling for immediate efforts to reduce carbon emissions, rather than 20 to 30 years later. The ‘IPCC 20th Assessment Report’, which was unanimously approved by the UN’s ‘Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’ (IPCC) on the 6th of last month, also called for an integrated and short-term response over the next 10 years to respond to climate change.
Accordingly, bioethanol is emerging as the most realistic alternative to achieve carbon neutrality in the transportation sector. In fact, 60 countries around the world, including the US, EU, Japan, and China, are introducing bioethanol to improve the air environment, contribute to reducing greenhouse gases, and replace fossil fuels. Korea is currently implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires blending 3.5% biodiesel for diesel vehicles only. Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced plans to expand eco-friendly biofuels and announced that it would raise the mandatory blending ratio of biodiesel to 2030% by 8 and conduct a pilot project to use bioethanol blends for public institutions vehicles starting next year. .
The carbon reduction effect of bioethanol has already been proven through several research results. ERL (Environmental Research Letter), an international journal in the field of global environment, and the U.S. National Argonne Laboratory announced results showing that ‘corn ethanol reduces carbon emissions by more than 46% on average compared to gasoline.’ Also, at the ‘Climate Crisis Era and Biofuel’ symposium held in Korea in September 2021, Dr. Steffen Mueller of the University of Illinois (UIC) said, “If Korea mixes only 9% bioethanol in gasoline, it will produce 10 million tons of carbon per year. “Emissions can be reduced in the transportation sector,” he said.
Dr. Jerod Kelly of the U.S. National Argonne Laboratory, who was a speaker at the ‘International Symposium on Automotive Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Assessment’ hosted by the Ministry of Environment and the National Institute of Environmental Research at this year’s Seoul Mobility Show, said, “Internal combustion engine vehicles use E85 fuel mixed with 85% ethanol. In the case of E10, it has a carbon reduction effect equivalent to that of various types of electric vehicles,” he said. “Even in the case of vehicles mixed with 10% EXNUMX, although it is not as effective as electric vehicles, it shows a significant carbon reduction effect.”
“Bioethanol is the most economical and effective carbon reduction tool that can be directly applied to Korea’s infrastructure and vehicles,” said Kim Hak-soo, head of the Korean office of the American Grain Association. “The bioethanol blending policy is a carbon reduction alternative that can be implemented immediately, reducing Korea’s petroleum fuel. “Not only does it contribute to energy security by reducing dependence, but it can also be an alternative to converting carbon-emitting fuels into eco-friendly, low-carbon fuels in an internationally recognized way, leading to a soft landing for the oil refining and automobile industries in the carbon neutral era,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Mobility Show is Korea’s only mobility exhibition accredited by the Association of the International Automotive Industry (OICA) and is held every two years starting in 1995. The organizer, the Seoul Mobility Show Organizing Committee, is comprised of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), the Korea Imported Automobile Association (KAIDA), and the Korea Automobile Industry Cooperatives Association (KAICA). 2 companies and organizations from 2023 countries around the world participated in the 12 Seoul Mobility Show.