Loud arguments regarding the production of electric cars versus gasoline models include fuel, and Porsche enters one side of the argument.
Historically, Porsche owners have kept their sports cars on the road longer than nearly every other brand. Some of this is due to the impressive build of the vehicles, while other reasons for this is the love owners have for their sports cars. If the automotive world is moving to strictly EV models, how can classic Porsche owners continue to drive their vehicles?
A Gasoline Alternative that Doesn’t Change the Engine
You probably won’t find any Porsche owners interested in changing their engines for an electric powertrain. Even though this sportscar brand has embraced the need to build electric models, they want to serve their loyal drivers that continue to enjoy the feel of their classic 911 models. This reality brought about the investment Porsche makes in the future of synthetic fuel production. The interest in alternative fuels for gasoline cars goes back several years now, but the first big step forward is with the latest investment.
Where is the $75 Million Going?
The investment from the famed sports car company goes to a Chilean company developing an attractive new fuel. This company, Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF), is already becoming a global leader in producing commercial liquid synthetic fuels. The energy they’re working on is called eFuel, which doesn’t mean that it’s some witchcraft with electricity and gasoline combined, but a special fuel that does something different. The power developed is electricity-based, but it’s made to work in any gasoline-powered vehicle, which brings about the next part of the conversation; how it’s made.
The Argument We All Hear
To fully appreciate the new HIF eFuel, we must first cover the argument we’ve been hearing since the first EV was produced. No one can argue the impact electric vehicles have on the environment once they are on the road. These vehicles don’t make any emissions, leaving a carbon-neutral footprint. On the other hand, using gasoline, or worse, diesel in a car produces harmful emissions that pollute the atmosphere. EVs would win out every time if the argument ended there, but there’s a lot more to the story than this.
How Are These Cars Built?
To build a lithium-ion electric battery pack, many metals must be mined from the earth to bring the right components together. Additionally, the electricity produced to power an EV is often the result of a coal-fired plant that produces electricity for that grid. These two facts are strong points against electric vehicles and gasoline models. Yes, it takes several necessary metals to make a gasoline car, but most of those metals are much more common. This is where our conversation involves Porsche and the new fuel the company has invested in.
What Makes the HIF eFuel Special?
HIF makes it eFuel electricity-based synthetic fuel using wind energy, making it nearly carbon neutral. This allows it to be the right option for drivers of the iconic and classic 911 models that many Porsche owners want to continue to drive. Porsche plans to sell the eFuel at its Experience Centers and could eventually begin to deliver each new Porsche with a tank of eFuel, but that day hasn’t come yet. Instead, Porsche is looking for a way to serve its loyal drivers that show off their classic models for the world to see whenever the weather is a little warmer, and the sun shines a little brighter.
The Goal; Remove Fossil Fuels
The way the HIF eFuel is produced is key to the impact older Porsche models will have on the environment if they use this fuel exclusively. The goal of eliminating carbon emissions begins with removing fossil fuels from the equation. Because the eFuel is entirely synthetic and made using wind power, it solves this part of the picture. If owners of classic Porsche models can use this fuel and still have a liquid-fueled car, this new eFuel makes perfect sense.
Porsche is Ready to Provide the Option
It’s feasible for Porsche to provide this new fuel everywhere globally, but if they can take care of all the fuel consumed by specific models, those classic 911s can stay on the road even longer. The investment gives Porsche a 12.5% stake in HIF and their eFuel production method. This method uses wind power to turn hydrogen and CO2 into liquid fuel used in every gasoline-powered car. This company will begin producing this fuel in Chile some time in the middle of the year and offer it to interested markets.
Why is the eFuel Such an exciting product?
Maybe this new HIF eFuel is some form of electrified witchcraft. This new fuel works in any car that uses gasoline. That’s most of the vehicles on the planet right now. This is needed to move older cars away from their dependence on fossil fuels and toward something synthetic. There’s still a variety of testing phases to complete, but this could be an interesting answer for some vehicles and create a product that starts as a carbon neutral product before being put into the gas tanks of many cars worldwide.
Will the New eFuel Clean up the Atmosphere?
Because this new fuel only changes the product going into the vehicle but not the process by which it is used, we guess that it’s not going to change the number of pollutants expelled into the atmosphere. We could be wrong about this, and eFuel might be the right product to change the future of driving. Porsche is heavily invested in this new fuel and plans to bring production to the United States and Australia. There’s still a lot to learn about this new eFuel, but at least it’s an exciting step forward in those answers to how to change the production process to be more environmentally friendly.
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