Porsche wants to drive forward the development of synthetic fuels - so-called eFuels - itself in the future. The technology is particularly important because the combustion engine will continue to dominate the automotive world for many years to come, says Chief Development Officer Michael Steiner. "If you want to operate the existing fleet sustainably in the future, then eFuels are an elementary component," he emphasizes.
"We have a team that is looking for suitable partners who want to build pilot plants with us and prove that the process chain works and can be industrialized," says Steiner. The aim is to help shape this chain, but not to define it down to the smallest detail alone.
Synthetic fuels are considered a realistic alternative for making car transportation more climate-friendly. Porsche is tackling the task.
eFuels are produced fromCO2 and hydrogen using renewable energy. They do not differ in their basic properties from conventional fuels made from crude oil. Ideally, however, they are climate-neutral.
With the Taycan, Porsche already has a purely electrically powered model in its range, and many vehicles are now also available as hybrid variants. However, that is not enough. "Electromobility is an absolutely inspiring and convincing technology. But on its own, it is not moving us forward towards sustainability as quickly as we would like," explains Steiner. "That's why we are also committed to the topic of eFuels - also with regard to possible applications in motorsport."
Demand for eFuels despite increasing electrification
Although Porsche wants to sell half of all vehicles with an electric drive by 2025, the existing fleet is large. "Our cars will be driven for a very, very long time," emphasizes Steiner. And although the hybrid vehicles are electric on short journeys, they are also powered by a combustion engine on long journeys.
Porsche is not thinking of removing the pure combustion engine from the range and relying solely on hybrids and electric cars. "We are convinced that these three drive technologies will survive on the market in the medium term," confirms Steiner. The fuel cell, on the other hand, is not an issue for the sports car manufacturer.
Steiner would like to be able to influence the specifications of a new synthetic fuel: "We definitely want to be involved in specifying this fuel so that it is also suitable for high-performance engines." Problems such as the introduction of E10 should not be repeated. "When E10 came onto the market, blending it also had disadvantages. It must be different this time. It must have advantages."
Steiner concedes that it is far more efficient to simply charge an electric car directly on site with renewable energy than to use it to produce a synthetic fuel in a complex process. However, he does not want to accept this argument forever. "If we succeed as a human race in using the surplus of renewable energy available worldwide, we can prioritize sustainability over efficiency."
The use of eFuels would currently do nothing for theCO2 fleet values. "It wouldn't count for us in the vehicle fleet," says Steiner. "But there are countries like Switzerland that are moving in this direction." Steiner believes that waiting for new legal requirements is the wrong approach. "If we all wait until all the regulatory issues have been resolved and only then start developing, it will be too late."
