Porsche has started work on its new synthetic fuel production plant in Haru Oni, Chile. The facility is being built in collaboration with the German technology huge Siemens and is set to produce its first batch of carbon-neutral fuel next year.
Synthetic fuels, or eFuels, are compatible with conventional internal combustion engines, and are produced through carbon-neutral processes that potentially offset the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated when the fuel is burnt.
What are synthetic fuels? efuels explained
In its first year of service, the plant will produce just 130,000 litres of carbon-neutral fuel, which will be used to power Porsche’s racing cars and Experience Centre cars. Porsche is then targeting a capacity of 55 million litres a year by 2024, and 550 million litres by 2026.
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While that might seem like an terrible lot of fuel, it’s actually just a drop in the ocean. figures from the Petrol Retailers’ association show that the UK alone uses 46.5 billion litres of petrol and diesel every year.
But that isn’t the point of the project. Porsche is trying to show how reports on the death of the internal combustion engine may be exaggerated – and that the carbon emissions these engines produce can be managed with smart engineering.