A real future candidate for sustainable mobility – or just a pseudo-replacement for fossil fuels riddled with greenwashing? The so-called e-fuels, synthetically produced fuels, still divide opinions. While many see potential for climate friendliness and an important element in the mobility transition, for skeptics they are just an excuse to slow down the switch to e-mobility. In our FAQ we answer the most important questions about e-fuels.
This report originally appeared in our magazine Unter Strom 2023. The digital version of the entire magazine can be found here.
What are e-fuels?
E-fuels are also known as electricity-based synthetic fuels. Electrical energy from water and carbon dioxide (CO2) is used in their production. This process is called power-to-fuel. Ordinary internal combustion engines can use this fuel, with theoretically greater savings in CO2 emissions than fossil fuels.
Due to their chemical purity, e-fuels can also be used in fuel cells, where they react to form pure carbon dioxide and water and can thus keep the released carbon dioxide in a cycle.
“Ideally, e-fuels are basically the purest form of green electricity because they have a very high energy density. They can be both liquid and gaseous, with the liquid form being the most commonly used. It is a transparent, not very odorous liquid.
How are e-fuels produced?
E-fuels are made from hydrogen, which is obtained from water using electrolysis. The renewable electricity required for this comes from wind and solar systems. In the Fischer-Tropsch process, hydrogen is synthesized into a liquid fuel using CO2 taken from the atmosphere (power-to-liquid process). For example, the water can come from the sea, the CO2 can be obtained directly from the air through direct air capture or through carbon removal before it even enters the atmosphere. The biggest challenge is the electricity required for production.
“In order to produce truly sustainable e-fuels, large amounts of green electricity are necessary. Of course it shouldn’t come from sources that people need elsewhere. Rather, we see great potential in sources that are not yet fully exploited, i.e. where clean energy is lying idle. There are many areas on Earth that receive tremendous amounts of wind and where there are almost never clouds. When it comes to wind and solar energy, there is a huge treasure buried in this place that has not yet been discovered,” says Stephan Schwarzer.
Where are e-fuels used?
E-fuels can be used in conventional combustion engines or modern oil heaters, which are usually operated with gasoline, kerosene, diesel or heating oil. No conversion is necessary and the corresponding vehicles and heating systems could also be used in the future.
In addition to their use in cars, e-fuels are also seen as a possible future solution in shipping and air traffic. E-fuels could also be used in modern oil condensing boilers without having to convert them or carry out any renovation work on the building. “Essentially, e-fuels can do everything that common fossil fuels can currently do. It is possible to replace them 1:1 with their fossil counterparts,” explains Stephan Schwarzer.
When will e-fuels be widely available?
When large-scale industrial facilities will be available for the production of e-fuels depends heavily on the political and regulatory framework. The technical requirements are in place that will allow the construction of large-scale industrial plants in the medium term. However, this only happens if there is investment security and openness to technology. According to the eFuel Alliance, the first production quantities could be available as early as 2025.
Why should e-fuels have a place in the mobility transition?
Many EU politicians and players in the mobility industry argue for the use of e-fuels. According to them, they are particularly suitable for the mobility transition because they can be used in cars with combustion engines. This should make it possible to use a sustainable fuel without having to replace all existing “classic” vehicles with electric cars. And in fact, e-fuels are technically more climate-friendly than fossil fuels.
Of course, the combustion process, which is unavoidable with e-fuels, produces CO2 emissions. However, these should be offset by using CO2 in production. “In principle, the CO2 emissions in this case are not new, but come from a different source. This makes it possible to recover CO2 as a waste product from industrial production and use it for fuel production,” says Schwarzer.
Why are e-fuels so polarizing?
It all sounds very good, but e-fuels come with a big but: the climate protection effect depends heavily on the mix of electricity used for production. If the electricity comes from renewable sources or nuclear energy and the CO2 comes from the atmosphere or sustainably obtained biomass, combustion engines can be operated climate-neutrally using e-fuels.
However, even a small proportion of fossil electricity significantly worsens the climate balance, and with larger proportions of fossil electricity, the emissions from e-fuels even exceed those from fossil fuels several times over. Another problem is that e-fuels are currently still very expensive and are nowhere near being produced on the scale where they can be used globally. In addition, production at this level would not only require a massive expansion of corresponding systems, but also significantly more systems for green electricity. It could be very difficult to implement this expansion effectively over the next few decades.
E-fuels could even develop into an “obstacle to the transport transition,” say researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI). They are not the right way, especially for cars and trucks. The economic effort to scale the production of the fuel is too high. E-fuels are significantly more harmful to the environment than ordinary e-mobility, the “cost of CO2 avoidance” with e-fuels is around 1,000 tons of CO2, and burning also produces nitrogen oxides, fine dust and carbon monoxide.
The researchers see possible uses for synthetic fuels in the steel sector, in chemistry, in refineries and in international air and shipping traffic. However, the promotion of e-fuels in road transport could have a negative impact on the transport transition and is “currently not ecologically or economically expedient”.
How do e-fuels compare to e-cars?
To put it briefly: Not good. According to Transport and Environment, an electric vehicle causes around 53 percent fewer CO2 emissions than a combustion engine with synthetic fuels. According to ISI, direct electrification is up to five times more efficient in terms of electricity use compared to e-fuels. According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, a car using synthetic fuel uses five times more energy than an electric car. According to the ADAC, the need for renewable energy for production is also higher than if the electricity were used directly to charge an electric car.
Will e-fuels be allowed in the future?
There is currently a heated debate in the EU about e-fuels. As a reminder: the end of internal combustion engines in 2035 is a done deal. The EU Parliament, Commission and the Member States have agreed on this. However, Austria and Germany vetoed it. One point of contention that has not yet been completely clarified is e-fuels. Austria and Germany in particular are calling for cars with combustion engines to be permitted in the future as long as they run on e-fuels.
The final decision has not yet been made, but it should probably still be possible to sell cars with combustion engines even after 2035, as long as they can fill up with e-fuels. Sustainable or not, e-fuels don’t seem to be disappearing from mobility any time soon.
Will e-fuels be affordable in the future?
One of the biggest problems with e-fuels outside of their climate footprint is their price. According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, even after significant cost reduction potential has been achieved by 2050, a price of between 1.20 euros and 3.60 euros per liter is still expected for e-fuels – plus costs for taxes, duties, profit margins and sales as well as for research and development. Taxes and duties alone are likely to increase the price per liter by one euro. For comparison: The price per liter for fossil fuels without taxes and duties is currently around 0.60 to 0.70 euros per liter.
If you evaluate the costs of climate protection, the CO2 avoidance costs for cars with e-fuels in 2030 will be around 1000 euros per tonne of CO2, which is many times higher than those of electromobility or other climate protection measures.
These numbers speak massively against e-fuels, but Stephan Schwarzer points out that the technology is currently still in a very early development phase. Schwarzer is optimistic that e-fuels will become significantly cheaper in the future if the fuels are successfully scaled up.
Who produces e-fuels today?
Of course, e-fuels have to come from somewhere in order to help shape the mobility of tomorrow. There are several companies that specialize in this fuel. A showcase example is Sunfire from Dresden. This young company was originally best known for hydrogen energy. However, the startup took a decisive step towards e-fuels in 2020. Until then, the production of e-fuels was mainly limited to smaller test projects. As of 2020, Sunfire began building the first plant for the production of synthetic fuels on an industrial scale with European partners in Norway.
But established corporations are also increasingly relying on e-fuels. For example, the car company Porsche is working on the fuel. But above all it is a rescue for oil companies that are in trouble because of the bans on fossil fuels. It is therefore not surprising that companies such as ExxonMobil, ENAP, Enel, Empresas Gasco and OMV have started their first orders in this area.
Do e-fuels have a future despite the switch to e-mobility?
An important question about e-fuels is whether they can also be used when there are more electric vehicles and combustion engines are out of the picture. Stephan Schwarzer is of the opinion that fuels will not become obsolete because combustion engines could continue to be used for a very long time.
“There are still many countries and regions that do not have a full supply of electricity. It will certainly be a long time before a switch to electric cars is possible. That’s why it’s so important that we not only focus on electric cars, but also promote other future technologies such as e-fuels. It is much more realistic to achieve the mobility transition with them than without them,” said the managing director of the E-Fuel Alliance Austria.