For the Frankfurt motor show this month, GM’s Opel division on September 10 unveiled a “Flextreme” diesel-electric hybrid concept car boasting less than one-third the target CO2 emissions pushed by European legislators.

Demand for diesel jumped 7.5% year-on-year in Organisation for Economic and Co-operative Development (OECD) countries, according to this month’s Oil Market Report published by the International Energy Agency (EIA).

For July, demand for diesel among OECD member countries increased to 9.58 million b/d, while total demand for all oil products remained unchanged from July 2006.

Just as U.S. production of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) made a record by breaking the 3 million b/d mark in late August, so did U.S. ULSD stocks make a record for themselves for the week ending Sept. 14.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. ULSD stocks inched closer to 70 million bbls, reaching 69 million bbls between Sept. 7 and 14th, the highest stock level ever for ULSD.

Teetering towards bankruptcy, U.S.-based biodiesel maker Earth Biofuels reports losing $60 million in the first half of 2007.

Nissan North America on September 10 confirmed that a concept clean diesel engine unveiled at Frankfurt auto show by its “alliance” partner Renault “will be the basis for the clean diesel engine planned for the Nissan Maxima in 2010 for the U.S. market.”

Detroit – Investigations at U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in partnership with the University of Tennessee (UT), on 1995-vintage diesel oxidation catalysts (DOC) used on transit buses showed that diesel exhaust soot rather than lube-oil phosphorous poisoning was the main cause of DOC deactivation.

At this month’s 2007 Frankfurt auto show, Mercedes-Benz on Sept. 11 unveiled more details about its much talked-about “DiesOtto” concept powertrain that aims to combine the fuel efficiency of diesel but with relatively simple emissions-control typical of gasoline engines.

Detroit – An “air power assist” (APA) scheme that converts braking energy into compressed air on-board a vehicle could boost fuel economy while also helping to slash engine emissions, according to a Cummins investigation.

Detroit – Diesels show plenty of potential for even more energy efficiency and ultra-low-emissions gains in both the short- and mid-term, as Cummins explained to U.S. Dept. of Energy’s 13th Diesel Engine Efficiency & Emissions Research (DEER) conference here last month.