Although electric vehicles and electrification take up a lot of real estate in traditional media, innovation in liquid fuels to power internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles has not gone by the wayside. In fact, far from it.
In a recent episode of Convenience Matters, host Jeff Lenard of NACS and John Eichberger, executive director of the Transportation Energy Institute, explored the impact e-fuels could have on the energy sector and highlighted key takeaways from the Institute’s latest report, “E-Fuels: Evaluating the Viability of Commercially Deploying E-Fuels in Road Transport.”
E-fuels are synthetic liquid fuels produced from water, renewable electricity and carbon dioxide through a chemical or biochemical process.
Eichberger pointed out that e-fuels use carbon dioxide produced from industrial facilities and recycle it. “We can actually produce a variety of different fuels like gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and biofuels like ethanol, methanol, natural gas—all of these products can be used in transportation. By using that captured carbon and using renewable electricity, we can produce a fuel that is compatible with our existing vehicles and is compatible with our existing infrastructure,” he explained.
Unlike traditional fossil fuels, e-fuels reduce carbon emissions without the need for extensive changes to existing ICE technology or infrastructure. ICE vehicles that use e-fuels are near carbon neutral, giving consumers more choice in the vehicles they drive while continuing to reduce their carbon footprint.
For an example of how automakers are approaching e-fuels, check out how Porsche is investing in the development of e-fuels.
The Transportation Energy Institute’s e-fuels report suggests that e-fuels are highly compatible with existing ICE vehicles on the road.
That said, the road to scalability is long—most e-fuels technologies are in the early stages of technological and commercial development, and there are challenges with high costs and limited policy support to bridge the gap between e-fuels and fossil fuels.
Eichberger noted that production costs for e-fuels are two to four times higher than traditional gasoline. However, as processes mature and production scales, costs should decrease. He highlighted that policy support could also accelerate this transition, making e-fuels competitive in the market within the next few decades.
Worldwide there are an estimated 1.5 billion vehicles. Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from current and future ICE vehicles will require a lower carbon-intensity fuel to help achieve global decarbonization objectives.
“The big thing here is we're looking at a future fuel. It's not going to be on the market tomorrow. It's going to take us time to bring those costs down and scale up. As production increases, as we get more mature in the processes, costs will come down,” said Eichberger, adding that policies will help as well.
“If we keep certain policies in place, then I think we have the ability to bring these fuels to market at a competitive price in the next decade or two, but it is going to take some time,” he said.