Within the joint research project Profilregion Mobilitätssysteme Karlsruhe which is funded by the state Baden-Württemberg, research concentrates on the topic Alternative fuels for low emission combustion engines. The main objective of the project is the production and establishment of alternative fuels from renewable resources with minimum emissions during the production process as well as during combustion. The fuels are assessed extensively regarding not only raw materials and emissions but also important criteria such as availability, costs, safe handling and fuel properties. The work concentrates on spark ignition engines and compatible fuels with high octane ratings.

Objective of the activities is the development and production of tailored fuels for small engines. These are supposed to be produced up to 100% from renewable raw materials. Furthermore, a distinctive innovation potential, regarding emission reduction and fuel consumption, is pursued. Considering marketability, acceptable production costs, good availability and a safe handling are crucial issues that have to be ensured. For this, the following approach is employed: Firstly, ethanol is converted to ethylene by dehydration. In the next step, ethylene is converted to hydrocarbons via oligomerization reactions which are subsequently hydrogenated. The work concentrates on the development of oligomerization catalysts and the determination of reaction conditions which lead to a product that can be directly employed as gasoline, without extensive and costly upgrading.