60 Second Interview

60 Second Interview with WBM 08 Speaker Shige Kobayashi, General Manager, Toyota R&D Labs, Japan and Contributing Lead Author to the IPCC 4th Assessment Report.

Shige Kobayashi has over 25 years experience at Toyota's R&D Labs in Japan and is also a Contributing Lead Author to the IPCC 4th Assessment Report. He is therefore uniquely qualified to give WBM 08 attendees an insight into the future role that biofuels can play in reducing transportation C02 emissions.

1) With what mix of modifications do you see emissions being reduced in cars over the next 5-10 year period?

The major contribution for CO2 emission reduction comes from the improvement of energy efficiency. Dieselization, hybridization and the use of biofuels will add further reductions, but the effects will be different by each area.

2) From your work on the IPCC 4th Assessment Report how can biofuels assist in fighting climate change?

Although the actual potential of CO2 reduction is dependent on the pathway of production, biofuels can generally have a large impact on CO2 reduction.
This benefit of biofuels is additional to other developments in technologies including hybrids.
We believe Biofuel penetration will be moderate up to 2030 because of availability and cost issues. However after 2030, rapid expansion will be possible if technology of cellulosic ethanol becomes available.

3) How does biofuels compare to other alternative fuel sources? Are there any specific type of biofuel feedstocks that you think will become popular?

In the short and medium term, corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol will be dominant. If technology for cellulosic-ethanol becomes available, then those will be replaced by cellulosic-ethanol.

Meet Mr Kobayashi and other Biofuels Experts at WBM 08, Europe’s Largest Biofuels Event