Toyota working on low-carbon petrol for current-generation engines
- Toyota has joined hands with Exxon to develop a low-carbon fuel that could cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75 per cent compared to regular petrol.
Toyota has joined hands with Exxon Mobil to develop and test a low-carbon fuel for the current generation of engines. The Japanese automaker has said that this effort is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the existing vehicles. Also, the new fuel would offer consumers an alternative to upgrading to an electric car, claims a report by Automotive News.
The low-carbon petrol claims to have been developed with a mix of feedstocks, including biomass and ethanol, using a refinement process that reduces emissions during production and from tailpipe. Exxon has claimed that this new low-carbon petrol is capable of reducing carbon emissions by as much as 75 per cent compared to regular petrol.
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The report has further claimed that the low-carbon fuel is currently in the testing phase but has been proven compatible with the current crop of Toyota cars. The alternative fuel program of the automaker could provide an alternative to battery-powered cars in the future, which will allow the drivers to keep their existing internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles or upgrade to a cleaner hybrid or other ICE vehicles.
Andrew Madden, Exxon's vice president for strategy and planning, has reportedly hinted that once the alternative fuel is commercially viable, the next hurdle will be government policy support. “Having a solution for liquid fuels that we can use in the existing fleet, having it in the kind of policy construct where we allow the market to innovate, is the lowest cost way to decarbonize transportation," Madden said.
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The report claims that Exxon and Toyota have been arguing for a better policy from governments that would focus on the lifecycle emissions of the vehicles. Interestingly, Toyota and Exxon have a history of developing technologies to reduce vehicular emissions. Exxon previously touted algae as a sustainable alternative to conventional diesel. On the other hand, Toyota has invested heavily in hybrid powertrain technology and hydrogen fuel as part of its multipronged approach towards greener mobility.