AD MAGAZINE 342

36 March 2018 | AutoData TECHNOLOGY » ETHANOL + ELECTRIC VEHICLES of the EEA, “if there is high octane fuel at the pump and incentives to increase the autonomy, the use of ethanol will grow in the country.” He explains that “the discussion is about getting good gasoline from good ethanol with almost great regulation for the two of them.” Currently Brazilian hydrated ethanol has 92.4% purity and the rest is water, while in the United States this index is 98.2%. “It would be necessary to verify the implica- tion of this in the circulating fleet. There could be a gradual migration to unification.” The evolutionary sequence, for him, would be to continue developing internal combustion in order to take advantage of ethanol. On that scale, later, the flex hybrids and then fuel cell would come. “Ethanol fuel cell vehicles, like the Nissan project, have sensational appeal, but before that, they need to solve engineering issues.” Bosch of Brazil, a pioneer in technology that eliminates the need for gasoline small tanks for the cold start of vehicles fueled by ethanol, undergoes internal restructu- ring to deal with electrification. Fabio Fer- reira, director of products, reveals: “We see in ethanol a chance to improve the global emission of CO2. The increased mixing of ethanolwith gasoline tends to improve the environmental issue in several countries.” For the executive, the challenge is to improve the efficiency of ethanol engines in order to achieve greater autonomy and reduce the consumption gap for gasoline. And also emissions, “remembering that in 2022 wewill have the entry of the newPL7 emission standard”. Ricardo Takahira, from SAE’s Electric and HybridVehicles Commission, advoca- tes the adoption of policies that encourage research and development in this area. “Ford could do with the Fusion Hybrid the same as Toyota studiesto dowith the Prius.” He argues that “the challenge is not to have public policy.We’ve never had a local P&D. We came to expect a good timewith flex, which is actually a calibration. Nowwe have no serious policyof electric and hybrid. Flexwas the height of autonomy and local P&D but latelywe have lost everything due to the adoption of global platforms.We only put specific circuits.” Takahira warns that “if nothing is done towards electrification our auto parts park will disappear. Thewholeworld gives signs that things are changing and I think we have how to position ourselves and work on parallel solutions with the automotive world that converge.” The prototype of Toyota Prius hybrid flex will make test-trip from Sao Paulo, Capital, to Brasilia, DF, definitely an interesting destination Disclousure/Toyota