According to reports, German car manufacturer Audi has invented a carbon-neutral diesel fuel for internal combustion engines that has the potential to make a huge change when it comes to climate change. This fuel is made solely from water, carbon dioxide and renewable energy sources which is currently being used by the country’s Federal Minister of Education and Research, Johanna Wanka, who recently put a few liters of the fuel in her work car, “an Audi A8” to commemorate the accomplishment.
The creation of the fuel is a huge step forward for sustainable transport,and the fact that it’s being backed by an automotive giant makes it even more interesting. Audi has now set up a pilot plant in Dresden, Germany, operated by clean tech company Sunfire, which will pump out 160 litres of the synthetic diesel every day in the coming months.
Sunfire analyses have shown that the synthetic fuel is not only more environmentally friendly, but also has superior combustion when compared to fossil fuels. The overall energy efficiency of the e-diesel is 70 percent.
“The engine runs quieter and fewer pollutants are being created,” says Sunfire Chief Technology Officer Christian von Olshausen.
The base fuel is referred to as “blue crude,” and begins by taking electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar or hydro power while using it to produce hydrogen from water via reversible electrolysis. The hydrogen is then mixed with CO2 that has been converted into CO in two chemical processes and the resulting reactions produce a liquid made from long-chain hydrocarbons – this is blue crude, which is then refined to create the end product, the synthetic e-diesel.
Once it’s been refined, the resulting e-diesel can be mixed in with our current diesel fuel, or used on its own to power cars in a more sustainable way.
Audi says that the carbon dioxide used in the process is currently supplied by a biogas facility but, further adding to the green impacts of the process, some of the CO2 is captured directly from the ambient air, taking the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.
The E-diesel could be extremely competitive with traditional diesel currently on the market for upwards of 1.50 Euros per litre in Germany with Sunfire anticipating that actual figure will be largely dependent on the price of electricity.
“If we get the first sales order, we will be ready to commercialize our technology,” von Olshausen says.
Just imagine driving around and not feeling guilty for all the CO2 emissions you’re producing. Now, that’s innovation right there!
Below is a video on production process.
