Targeted to invest US$75 million (RM316.1 million) for one long-term shares in the carbon neutral fuel producer HIF Global for the production of synthetic fuels, or electronic fuelPorsche has officially opened the Haru Oni eFuels pilot plant in Punta Arenas, Chile, with the ceremony to refuel a Porsche 911 with the first batch of synthetic fuel produced at the site.
Formalized by Porsche’s head of procurement, Barbara Frenkel and Porsche’s head of research and development, Michael Steiner, the pilot plant in Punta Arenas, Chile produces synthetic fuels from water. (for hydrogen) and carbon dioxide using wind energy, thus allowing for near CO2 removal – Gasoline engine neutral operation, Porsche says.
Renewable fuel has been pressed in used by Porsche at the Super Cup one-off racing series from 2021 and eFuels will also be used more widely in Porsche Experience Center to help their ICE-based cars run close to carbon neutrality.
“The potential of e-fuel is huge. There are more than 1.3 billion vehicles with internal combustion engines worldwide. Many of these will be on the road for decades to come, and E-Fuel offers owners of existing cars a near-carbon-neutral alternative,” said Steiner.
The southern region of Chile, where the experimental production plant is located, has ideal conditions for E-Fuel production as the wind blows for 270 days a year allowing the wind turbines to operate at full capacity. Located near the Strait of Magellan, the Punta Arenas production plant is near the port of Cabo Negro, from where the synthetic fuel can be shipped worldwide through existing infrastructure.
Wider production of e-fuel from the production plant in Chile will begin in 2024 and is expected to produce 55 million liters of e-fuel that year. This will increase to 550 million liters per year by 2026, R&D director Steiner has previously stated. While Porsche targets 80% of all new car sales to be fully electric, that figure is still 20% with ICE-based powertrains.
The 1.3 billion vehicles powered by internal combustion engines will include the car for which Porsche is most famous, the 911, and still about 70% of those all 911 been in production since 1963 is still on the way, Steiner added.
The automaker says the implementation of this synthetic e-fuel is part of a larger effort by Porsche to achieve a CO2-neutral balance sheet across its entire value chain by 2030 and this includes a CO2 neutralization phase for the company’s future all-electric vehicles. model.
