Porsche has embraced electric vehicles, but they’re not ready to give up on internal combustion engines.
However, they want to make them more eco-friendly so they’ve announced plans to research synthetic fuels known as eFuels.
While synthetic fuels are nothing new, Porsche noted they are made from CO2 and hydrogen which can be created using renewable energy. This would ideally make them climate-neutral.
Porsche went on to say that, “in terms of their basic properties,” eFuels are “no different from kerosene, diesel or petrol processed from crude oil.” However, eFuels are a rarity and automakers such as Mercedes aren’t convinced they are worth the effort.
Porsche begs to differ so they’re looking for partners to build pilot eFuel plants to “prove that the entire process chain works and can be industrialized.” The company also said they’re willing to be flexible as they want to shape the chain but not “define it down to the smallest detail alone.”
It remains unclear if anyone will take Porsche up on the offer, but the company’s research and development boss, Michael Steiner, said “Electric mobility is an exciting and convincing technology but, taken on its own, it is taking us towards our sustainability targets at a slower pace than we would like.” He went on to say that’s why Porsche is committed to eFuels as the “combustion engine will continue to dominate the automotive world for many years to come.”
Steiner went on to say Porsche wants to be involved in eFuel development so they can ensure synthetic fuels are suitable for high-performance engines. He went on to criticize blended fuels such as E10 as it launched with disadvantages rather than advantages.