Clean synthetic fuels: the salvation for combustion engine vehicles?

The trend in the automotive industry seems to be tilting towards the production of electric cars, but it is still too early to say that this will be the definitive solution to the pollution caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. Besides electrification, which remains the most common solution in this regard, there are other options. One of them is synthetic fuel.

A solution that several brands have set aside but that for others represents a fairly clear solution. Mercedes-Benz is one of the brands that has abandoned all proposals of this kind, but others, such as Porsche, are firmly committed to this type of fuel.

A longer useful life for combustion engines

The fuel that Porsche is working on will allow, according to the company, the brand’s combustion-engine cars to keep running normally for many more years. Even if the electric model becomes the standard, combustion-engine cars will still be able to use the brand’s new synthetic fuel. The key is that it reduces NOx particulate and CO2 emissions by up to 85%.

A 100% reduction is not reached, which is what electric cars achieve, but Porsche maintains that the reduction of the carbon footprint in the manufacture of the vehicle and of the fuel balances this percentage out and makes it totally neutral.

This fuel will ensure that customers who have bought a car from the brand can keep using it for many years. Buying one of these cars is a considerable investment, so owners could decide not to buy them in the coming years, thinking they will soon become useless because of electrification.

With the presentation of the eFuel, owners of Porsche combustion-engine models can rest easy, because they will be able to keep using their cars, but without the handicap of emitting polluting gases. Research is under way and tests will be carried out in 2022, so that it can be ready as soon as possible.

Other brands don’t want it

The use of this synthetic fuel is also of interest to the Group Volkswagen, which is researching a type of fuel based on synthetic methane. McLaren is also carrying out studies on the use of synthetic fuel with a neutral CO2 balance, and Mazda is working on obtaining a fuel derived from algae.

On the opposite side is Mercedes-Benz, which considers that using electricity to produce this type of fuel is a waste of resources when that same electricity can be stored in a battery to power the vehicle itself. Thus, it has abandoned all its research on the matter and will focus on electrification, forgetting this possibility.