The topic of eFuels has been pushed more into the spotlight by Formula 1’s drive to utilise a 100% sustainable drop-in fuel for its next generation of engines in 2026. This follows the World Rally Championship in 2022 introducing a blend of synthetic and biofuel, which it claims is 100% renewable, and for this season IndyCar introduced its own blend that uses second-generation ethanol derived from Brazilian sugarcane.
Huge investment is going into eFuels to keep internal combustion engines alive for longer, with the sale of new ICE cars due to be banned by the EU from 2035 unless they are running on synthetic fuels, and to reduce the carbon output of existing cars. Efforts to limit fossil fuel use is welcome, but are eFuels really the best way of doing this in motorsport?
First, let’s consider how eFuels are made. It’s a very energy-intensive process, which involves capturing carbon dioxide from the air and binding it together with hydrogen extracted from water. It’s not magic; you need to put in the energy first to be able to extract it afterwards in a combustion cycle. A fuel that has a lot of energy in it needs a lot to produce in the first place.
Then you need to transport this fuel from its source to a filling station, pump it into a car, and finally burn it. Even if you make the argument that 2026 F1 engines burning eFuels are carbon neutral, because they only release the carbon that is used to make the fuel, there’s still the question of making the entire chain renewable and cost-effective.
Generating carbon to produce eFuel is clearly counterproductive. So to be fully carbon neutral, the electricity needs to come from renewable sources. That means using wind and solar power, as the average grid of US or Europe is very carbon-dependent. But these energy sources are very expensive and there isn’t an abundant supply. As a result, for the general public, eFuels are not a commercially viable option.
It’s simply not the case that because F1 will run eFuel, the market will follow because the energy to produce it is so expensive. Unless it’s for a niche classic car that you want to drive at the weekends and hear the engine while still being carbon neutral, it doesn’t make sense.
Carbon capture is still in its early stages, so technology will evolve and it will get cheaper. But again, this is some way off. Bosch in 2020 predicted that renewable synthetic fuels would not be €1.20 per litre until 2030 at the earliest. The International Council on Clean Transportation views this as an optimistic estimate.
Source: Autosport