E-fuels: A Complement to Electrification or a Standalone Solution?
As the UK government’s 2030 ban on new pure-combustion cars approaches, questions are being raised about whether alternative fuel solutions have a role to play in reducing transport emissions, alongside electrification. While electric vehicles (EVs) are seen as the primary solution to decarbonize road transport, carbon-neutral fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels could complement electrification. However, there are significant challenges to the widespread adoption of these fuels.
The UK government has been accused of “putting all its eggs in one basket” by mandating a widespread transition to battery-electric vehicles from 2035. The Transport Select Committee’s report cited shortcomings in EV charging infrastructure and a shortage of raw materials, which may slow or prevent a smooth transition to EVs. The committee urged a “reality check” on the government’s transport strategy and highlighted the need to address the existing petrol and diesel fleet to achieve the UK’s climate goals.
Currently, the plan is to ban sales of all new pure-petrol and pure-diesel vehicles from 2030. Hybrids with an as yet undefined “significant zero-emission capability” get a five-year stay of execution, although this may change. The European Parliament was set to follow a similar course, but Germany, Italy, and other EU member states rebelled, successfully arguing the case for carbon-neutral fuels such as e-fuels.
E-fuels are a type of synthetic fuel produced using ‘green’ hydrogen (made by electrolysing water with renewable electricity) and carbon, often sourced from waste biomass or CO2 captured from the atmosphere. An e-fuel’s removal of atmospheric carbon is argued to offset the emissions produced when the fuel is burnt in an engine. However, there are serious concerns around manufacturing carbon-neutral fuels. Burning e-fuels produces poisonous carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, which pose a health risk for local communities. In the case of e-fuels, there is a huge energy requirement to overcome in producing the necessary hydrogen.
According to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency, producing all of today’s industrial hydrogen output from electricity would create an electricity demand of 3600TWh. This is almost 1000TWh more than the EU’s entire energy production last year, of which just 39.4% came from renewables. Yoann Gimbert, e-mobility analyst for environmental lobby group Transport & Environment, said in October 2022 that using e-fuels in cars and commercial vehicles risks “[sucking] up renewable electricity needed for the rest of the economy.” Gimbert added that e-fuels should be diverted to planes and ships, which cannot yet use batteries to decarbonize.
Nonetheless, momentum continues to build globally. Porsche’s e-fuel partner, Highly Innovative Fuels, began production at the Haru Oni plant in Chile last December and recently gave the go-ahead for a second plant in Texas, US. Several car makers, particularly low-volume ones, have expressed a keen interest in using e-fuels to maintain a combustion offering beyond the end of the decade.
Biofuels are another type of carbon-neutral fuel that could complement electrification. They are made from organic biomass such as agricultural waste and turned into bioethanol – the product currently blended into petrol to make E5 and E10 pump fuels – and then further processed into biogasoline that meets the standards for forecourt fuels. The carbon removed from the atmosphere when growing the biomass is said to offset the carbon produced at the tailpipe.
The biggest barrier to the mass adoption of carbon-neutral fuels is the lack of incentives for them. According to Coryton advisor Steve Sapsford, “none of the CO2 savings that we could deploy here actually count in anybody’s system, and that’s the fundamental problem.” Incentives could drive carbon-neutral fuel production, and the UK government has yet to officially factor e-fuels into its emissions-reduction strategy.
In conclusion, while e-fuels and biofuels could complement electrification, there are significant challenges to their widespread adoption. The lack of incentives for carbon-neutral fuels is a major barrier, and there are serious concerns around manufacturing e-fuels. Nonetheless, momentum continues to build globally, and several car makers have expressed a keen interest in using e-fuels to maintain a combustion offering beyond the end of the decade. The UK government needs to address the existing petrol and diesel fleet to achieve its climate goals, and a total shift may be required to achieve these targets.