The future of the car seems to be electric. But it is far from clear how quickly the internal combustion engine will disappear. One reason: new types of fuel with an almost neutral CO2 balance.
On the one hand, hardly any boss from the old car world is singing the praises of the electric drive louder than Oliver Blume at the moment. On the other hand, no one is as committed to combustion fuels as the Porsche boss. It is not without reason that his company is involved on a large scale in the development and production of so-called e-fuels, which can be used in conventional gasoline engines. What sounds like a contradiction at first glance could prove to be a smart strategy-for Porsche and for the climate.
These e-fuels are produced with the help of electricity from renewable sources, water and CO2 from the air and therefore do not release any additional CO2, unlike conventional fuels. But they are climate-neutral in the total balance, communicates the industrial association of the E-Fuel Alliance in Berlin. It represents around 130 companies ranging from petroleum to automotive manufacturers. And unlike hydrogen for fuel cells, for example, these fuels can be distributed comparatively quickly, easily and cost-effectively via the existing network of filling stations.
“E-fuels are a fundamental component”.
Admittedly, these fuels do not burn residue-free either. But with them, millions of existing vehicles could be freed from the stigma of climate killers virtually overnight simply by changing fuel. “If you want to operate the existing fleet sustainably in the long term, e-fuels are a fundamental component,” says Porsche’s head of development Michael Steiner. At the same time, such fuels would continue to offer manufacturers like Porsche the opportunity to offer emotionally charged sports cars with combustion engines.
It’s not for nothing that the Swabians explicitly exclude the 911 from their lofty electrification plans with a share of at least 50 percent by 2025. As long as the law allows it, it will continue to exist with an internal combustion engine, the Stuttgart-based company repeats like a mantra, and e-fuels could give them a lot more breathing room.
Simultaneous use of different technologies
Unfortunately, however, there is a catch. So far, these e-fuels exist only in theory or in small, barely affordable quantities from research and pilot plants. That’s why they initially invested 20 million euros in a cooperation with Siemens at Porsche and recently launched the first large-scale commercial plant for the production of these e-fuels in Chile. Using wind energy, it is expected to produce 130,000 liters of fuel annually starting as early as next year and more than 500 million liters by 2026. As the main consumer of the fuel, Porsche plans to use the e-fuels from Chile in motorsports and driver training in an initial phase before they will also fuel production models, the company said.
Porsche, a prominent manufacturer, is a strong supporter of synthetic fuels. And behind the scenes, many other brands are also hoping for at least a breather in the struggle for lower CO2 values. But e-fuels are comparatively controversial among experts.
“The goal of all efforts should be to achieve climate-neutral mobility, and to do so as quickly as possible and without too much negative economic impact,” says engine professor Stefan Pischinger of RWTH Aachen University. He is convinced that this will only be achievable through the simultaneous use of all possible technologies: “Without e-fuels, we will not be able to be climate-neutral by 2045, nor will we be able to achieve the interim targets,” he is convinced.
Combustion engines are not yet finished – or are they?
He attributes this to the huge inventory of internal combustion vehicles. “Even if the ten million electric vehicles optimistically forecast for Germany by 2030 were registered, that would be just 22 percent of the vehicles on the road.” If these then actually had “zero emissions,” that would correspond to a reduction of 22 percent, the expert calculates. The target for the end of the decade is a reduction of 65 percent.
In addition, even with aggressive expansion of renewable power generation in Germany, a considerable amount of energy would still have to be imported and stored in 2045. Due to the lack of transport and storage facilities for electrical energy, only hydrogen and e-fuels remained as energy carriers. Pischinger’s conclusion is therefore clear: the internal combustion engine is not an obsolete technology that needs to be “saved”. Rather, as a highly developed unit, it still offers great development potential, especially in combination with e-fuels, and could thus make a major contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.
Experts discuss e-fuels controversially
Automotive economist Ferdinand Dudenhöffer takes a fundamentally different view. “E-fuels are a very expensive proposition: unthinkable for cars, and highly likely to be displaced by fuel cells and battery-electric drive systems for trucks,” says the professor from the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg. He does concede that these new types of fuel have a chance of being used in aircraft and ships. But in the case of cars, he sees them more as an evasive maneuver by which petroleum producers, suppliers and vehicle manufacturers wanted to gain more time for conventional drives.
In addition to the high price, he justifies his pessimism with energy efficiency: If diesel is produced from solar power via several energy-intensive transformations and this is then burned with an efficiency of 40 percent, the overall efficiency is 15 percent. “That means 85 percent of the energy is lost. It doesn’t really get any worse than that.” With green hydrogen from solar power and fuel cells, 30 percent of the energy remains, and with the battery it is just under 80 percent. “That’s why green power is best served in the battery-electric car,” the professor argues.
Manufacturers cannot afford to split up
Andreas Radics of strategy consultant Berylls in Munich takes a position in between: “E-fuels could have been an answer to the question of how regions with almost non-existent e-infrastructure will be served in the future as more and more manufacturers exit traditional combustion engine technology,” says Radics. But at the same time, he complains that these technologies have found too few supporters in recent years and that, at least for passenger cars, the die has probably long since been cast.
“For vehicle manufacturers, splitting the powertrain portfolio into reciprocating engines, fuel cell technology and e-drives means more costs and additional complexity, two things they can ill afford in the current situation.” That is why the development of passenger cars is clearly moving in the direction of e-mobility.
Fuel cell technology, on the other hand, seems to offer itself as the solution for heavy trucks. And if there is a role for e-fuels, it will be as a niche application at best, especially if they are produced in regions with wind and solar energy surpluses, he is convinced: “Synthetic fuels may have the potential to delay the demise of the internal combustion engine, but they won’t stop it.”
