Porsche takes its synthetic E-Fuel gas racing to test performance and efficiency
Sean Szymkowski
Porsche thinks its synthetic gasoline, which it calls E-Fuel, could be as clean as an electric vehicle. First, it needs to prove that theory, and that starts this year. In fact, it starts today. The German company on Tuesday said drivers and their vehicles participating in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race series will be topped off with the renewable E-Fuel. The series kicks off today in Zandvoort, Netherlands, and the fuel will power the race cars through the whole season to test its performance and efficiency.
© Provided by Roadshow These aren't special prototype cars to run the E-Fuel -- just a race-ready 911 GT3. Porsche
Porsche expects this first iteration of the E-Fuel to burn with 85% fewer emissions than regular ol' gasoline, and on top of that, the synthetic gas filling up race cars today is blended to current market standards for passenger vehicles. To be clear, the fuel isn't E-Fuel in its final form, which promises greener days for the internal combustion engine. Sourced from Porsche and partner ExxonMobil's plant in Chile, the companies plan to produce over 34,000 gallons of the fuel through 2022 to continue testing. The plant splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, and CO2 is filtered out of the air and processed with the hydrogen to create synthetic methanol. From there, a secretive ExxonMobil methanol-to-gasoline operation takes place to create renewable gasoline.
While the cars burn through the fuel on track, Porsche engineers and bright minds will continue investigating its potential. The potential is huge, mind you, because this gasoline works in anything from a new 911 you can go home with today, to a classic 911 built decades ago when E-Fuel wasn't even a twinkle in someone's eye. The company maintains this investment and operation will be a compliment to its electrification efforts, but if E-Fuel becomes the next big thing, everyone wins as the world works to take carbon emissions out of the equation.
Porsche expects this first iteration of the E-Fuel to burn with 85% fewer emissions than regular ol' gasoline, and on top of that, the synthetic gas filling up race cars today is blended to current market standards for passenger vehicles. To be clear, the fuel isn't E-Fuel in its final form, which promises greener days for the internal combustion engine. Sourced from Porsche and partner ExxonMobil's plant in Chile, the companies plan to produce over 34,000 gallons of the fuel through 2022 to continue testing. The plant splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, and CO2 is filtered out of the air and processed with the hydrogen to create synthetic methanol. From there, a secretive ExxonMobil methanol-to-gasoline operation takes place to create renewable gasoline.
While the cars burn through the fuel on track, Porsche engineers and bright minds will continue investigating its potential. The potential is huge, mind you, because this gasoline works in anything from a new 911 you can go home with today, to a classic 911 built decades ago when E-Fuel wasn't even a twinkle in someone's eye. The company maintains this investment and operation will be a compliment to its electrification efforts, but if E-Fuel becomes the next big thing, everyone wins as the world works to take carbon emissions out of the equation.
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