ACC members make valuable contributions to our nation’s portfolio of energy efficient innovations in areas like automotive, home, building and industrial efficiency. Combined, our products save up to 11.1 percent of total U.S. energy consumption — enough to power, light, heat and cool up to 56 million homes or power 135 million vehicles a year.
Today, with the launch of a new interactive display, we’ll show you what these products are, how they work, and how they empower our nation to make more efficient (and less costly) use of our domestic energy resources.
We’re kicking things off with three case studies in automotive efficiency from ACC members BASF, LANXESS and Celanese:
- BASF paired with Daimler to make the Smart car a whole lot smarter with the energy-efficient Forvision concept vehicle. The Forvision uses some of the most technologically advanced (and some of the coolest) features available to make a car that is 50 percent lighter than those made with steel components, and that can take you 20 percent farther than a traditional electric vehicle (EV).
- LANXESS has developed a synthetic rubber blend and additive that enables tires to operate more efficiently with less fuel – all while enhancing safety. And the company’s lightweight plastic components reduce the weight of vehicles by up to 30 percent, which improves fuel efficiency.
- Celanese is working on a new thermochemical process that uses basic hydrocarbons like natural gas to produce high-quality, low-cost ethanol for liquid transportation fuel. Using certain local hydrocarbons rather than food crops to produce ethanol enhances energy security by taking advantage of locally abundant resources to produce energy.
These studies illustrate just a few of the ways chemistry products and technologies help Americans save up to $85 billion in energy costs annually.
Those of you following our energy advocacy and awareness campaign already know that energy efficiency is just one piece of a comprehensive energy plan for our country. Maximizing the national economic benefits of natural gas from shale, while promoting energy recovery technologies like waste-to-energy, are equally important to ensuring we’re on track to a strong, secure and sustainable future.
