Porsche’s E-Fuel synthetic gas is as clean as an EV, says the executive

It’s very clear: electric cars are the darlings of the automotive industry, and that is unlikely to change, except for some incredible technological advancement. Porsche is also on board the EV train, but the German sports car and the luxury brand are really involved in an incredibly cooler project, at least if you ask me: synthetic fuel. According to comments by Frank Walliser, vice president of motorsport for Porsche and GT cars, this fuel will make a traditional car as emission-free as an EV. A bold statement, no doubt.

Evo reported last Wednesday Walliser’s comments made during the debut of the new 911 GT3 on E-Fuel, when the executive explained how he is calculating the emissions associated with the fuel. We like to think that EVs are totally blameless, but the real story is that there are emissions associated with electric cars long before they hit the road.

“Synthetic fuel is cleaner and there is no by-product, and when we start full production, we expect a CO2 reduction of 85 percent,” said Walliser. He added that it is important to consider “wheel-pit” emissions measurement when talking about EVs or E-Fuel and said, “This will be the same level of CO2 produced in the manufacture and use of an electric vehicle.”

As for its operation, a plant in southern Chile will implement a proprietary methanol process for gasoline supplied under license from Exxon Mobil. The electrolysers will divide the water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the CO2 will be filtered from the air and processed with the hydrogen to create synthetic methanol. Then, the secret work of methanol in gasoline kicks in. Porsche’s initial bet on carbon-neutral gasoline involved an investment of $ 24 million.

Porsche announced its partnership with Siemens Energy last December to start producing synthetic fuel. The company says its creation works on everything from State-of-the-art Porsche 911 GT3 to a classic 911 of decades ago. Although the company does not see this as a replacement for battery powered electric cars (at least not yet), Porsche said in December, and reiterated to the Roadshow today in a statement, this E-Fuel can be a very useful addition to the work industry. electrification. “Electric mobility remains a top priority at Porsche,” said a spokesman. “Electronic fuels are a complement to Porsche electrification, not a rival.”

In 2022, Porsche will begin fuel testing with about 34,000 gallons of E-Fuel created. We could see 145 million gallons produced by 2026, if everything goes according to plan.