By Jonah Ruddock
Source: Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images
On top of their ambitious goal to have half of all models by 2025 electrified, Porsche is looking to develop “e-fuels” to replace gasoline in nonelectric vehicles. This would allow the owners of cars with traditional engines to drive in a more environmentally conscious way without going electric, as e-fuels would be climate neutral. It would also allow the company to continue manufacturing classic, fan-favorite models with less environmental consequences. “We would like and love cars like the 911 with high-rev combustion engines or turbocharged engines still as cars you could drive in the future without having the burden of a CO2 footprint, an unnecessary CO2 footprint,” said Michael Steiner, Porsche’s Director of Research and Development.
E-fuels are made by filtering carbon dioxide from the air and combining it with hydrogen from water, which produces synthetic methanol. This can be converted into gasoline with the use of a MTG (methanol to gasoline) technology developed by Exxon Mobil. Vehicles running on these e-fuels would emit only the carbon that was initially filtered from the air to make the synthetic methanol. Oil would still be required to lubricate the engine. It is not a perfect solution, but it’s a step-up from traditional gasoline. Porsche hopes to begin production at a plant in Chile as soon as 2022. The plant will be powered by wind energy, which is one of the primary reasons Chile was chosen as the location.
Porsche has invested twenty four million dollars in the growth of e-fuels and seven billion in electric cars. They are following the lead of companies like Tesla, Renault, Mitsubishi, and Nissan to bring about a greener future, and their electric models, such as the Taycan, have been very successful. However, electric cars are a deeply flawed way of combating climate change, as coal and natural gas are still widely used as the sources of electricity. Although they cut down on carbon emissions, they will not be a monumental improvement until cleaner sources, such as nuclear, wind, or solar power are used for electricity.
