Saving the combustion engine with re-fuels?

Electric, hydrogen, e-fuels and much more - In the course of phasing out fossil fuels, innovations are constantly being developed to help reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector. This also includes the development of so-called re-fuels. By relying not on fossil carbon sources but on environmental resources, these synthetic fuels are considered valuable helpers in the fight against climate change. A study by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has now examined the potential of re-fuels.  

In extensive tests, the researchers from Baden-Württemberg produced large quantities of synthetic fuel from regenerative sources. For example, from biomass and using processes - which allow carbon dioxide to be extracted from the air or from exhaust gases - they were able to produce more sustainable carbon. It is then with the use of hydrogen that these are converted into long-chain hydrocarbons - ready for use. And not only in drives that meet certain conditions. For the scientists were able to achieve successful results with a wide variety of internal combustion engines. 

According to Olaf Toedter of KIT, re-fuels could be used in almost all tested vehicles - without violating existing fuel standards for petrol and diesel fuels or impairing their performance. This is precisely one of the key points in favour of a broader production and application of re-fuels. Unlike, for example, pure hydrogen solutions, they do not require any systematic changes to the vehicles in order to power them. Instead, it would already be possible to use them on internal combustion vehicles in circulation. For many, this would end up being a killer argument in terms of sustainability, as it would mean that existing vehicles would continue to be used - only cleaner. Resources can then be saved for new cars and at the same time avoid putting even more cars on the road. 

Even more advantageous, he says, are the measured emission values. Depending on the mixing ratio between synthetic and fossil fuel, the KIT team was able to achieve a CO2 reduction of between 22 and 81 percent in the tests. A value that could increase even more if the conditions for series production of re-fuels are created in the future. The Karlsruhe Institute is already working on this. Together with the project partner, namely the MiRO refinery, KIT has built a production plant for re-fuels. 

However, in order to be able to start production in large quantities - especially in the case of re-fuels in their purest and thus most environmentally friendly form - there is a lack of sustainable energy sources. The availability of green electricity and hydrogen in Germany is still insufficient. If the industry were able to secure the necessary quantities for the further development of re-fuels, they could strongly shape the coming years of the energy transition. Re-fuels are more sustainable than many alternatives and remain flexible for use in the many combustion vehicles that will still be on the road. In this way, they can serve as a bridging technology and shape the transport transition where other types of drive have not yet been able to come into play.