Synthetic fuel

Does the future of the combustion engine reside with chemsists creating this ground-breaking new technology? Porsche seems to think so...

- CAMERON KIRBY

THE YEAR IS 2040. Some of the world’s largest and most powerful jurisdictions are now enforcing a ban on the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles. For traditional enthusiasts and the comments section, it is doomsday. A death knell for all combustion-powered vehicles, they decry.

While the pearl-clutching might be overblown – you’ll still be able to drive your petrol-powered car, much like you can still ride a horse to work if you really wanted to – the motoring industry will need a more environmentally friendly approach to ensure the combustion engine’s survival.

Enter synthetic fuels. The cliff notes sound too good to be true; a petrol alternative which can be created in a carbon-neutral process, that burns clean, can utilise existing infrastructure, and could be used in any combustion-powered vehicle without modifications.

First, how is it made? To create synthetic fuel, water is separated into its two core elements – hydrogen and oxygen – using renewably sourced electricity (traditionally solar or wind). Carbon dioxide is then sourced from the air, and filtered through the hydrogen, creating a methanol, which can then be turned into fuel that is chemically similar to what is pumped into every car at a service station.

In short, synthetic fuel takes the lengthy natural process of creating hydrocarbons, and replicates it with a rapid man-made procedure. The end result is nearly identical in its make-up to traditional fuels, but created in a renewable process.