“Electric fuel” – they say, it’s the future. But there is one “but”

A study by the German car club ADAC on eFuels shows that it can be used perfectly well instead of conventional fuel. Admittedly, until now there was no production capacity for the release, but this may change in the near future.

ADAC recently investigated whether eFuels can actually serve as an adequate replacement. The results are encouraging: the club’s laboratory tests have shown that synthetic fuels work without problems if the models are approved for the corresponding type of fuel.

“Our results show that further optimization of eFuels can not only improve the CO2 balance₂ in the existing fleet, but also to reduce pollutant emissions. This does not require waiting for the entire fleet to be updated,” says ADAC Technical President Carsten Schulze.

The only negative is that the production of e-fuel requires a large amount of electricity. But researchers believe that with the development of electricity production using solar panels and power generators, this problem will also be solved.

Since it is acceptable to mix mineral and artificial fuels, the proportion of e-fuel in the “tank” can continually increase as the capacity to produce it is built. From an ADAC point of view, it is necessary to continuously reduce the fossil fuel content by adding eFuel and thus make an important contribution to the protection of the environment. But for that politicians and authorities have to create incentives for producers.

During the ADAC test, electric fuel was tested on five vehicle models on a test bench. Exhaust emissions and fuel consumption have been precisely determined and compared in more than 100 measurements.

How is e-fuel produced?

The production of eFuel is based on hydrogen extraction. This is done through the process of electrolysis, where water (such as seawater from desalination plants) is split into its components, such as hydrogen and oxygen. Electricity is required for this process and subsequent production steps.

In the second phase, hydrogen is combined with CO under high pressure and with the aid of a catalyst₂ (carbon dioxide) is extracted from the air and turns into a liquid energy carrier – eFuel. Because electricity is used to produce e-fuel, this procedure is known as the energy-to-liquid process: electricity is converted into a synthetic liquid that can be easily stored and transported.

Source: adac.de

Video: YouTube