Porsche researches synthetic fuels for climate-friendly and sustainable mobility

Porsche is researching synthetic fuels or eFuels and is also looking for suitable partners who want to build pilot plants with it. The sports carmaker wants to make car traffic more climate-friendly using eFuels that are considered a realistic alternative to fossil fuels.

Porsche believes that electric vehicles alone cannot drive the climate change fast enough. It wants to prove that the entire process chain of synthetic fuels works and can be industrialised.

The carmaker says this technology is particularly important because the combustion engine will continue to dominate the automotive world for many years to come. "If you want to operate the existing fleet in a sustainable manner, eFuels are a fundamental component," explains Michael Steiner, in charge of R&D at Porsche.

eFuels are produced from CO2 and hydrogen using renewable energy. In terms of their basic properties, they are no different from kerosene, diesel or petrol processed from crude oil. However, they can ideally be a climate-neutral fuel.

Although Porsche plans for half of all its vehicles sold to be electric by 2025, it is not ready to completely let go of the combustion engine. "While our hybrid vehicles are powered electrically for short distances, they rely on their combustion engines over longer distances," explains Steiner.

Porsche wants to help with the process of synthetic fuels so that they can also be suitable for high-performance engines. The carmaker hopes to avoid problems encountered with the introduction of blended fuels such as E10. "It must be different this time: it must have advantages," adds Steiner. "We are committing to eFuels – and not ignoring possible applications in motor sports either."