Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 18, 2020

Porsche launches synthetic eFuel development project

Porsche announced earlier this month that it is joining a pilot project in Chile that could produce the world’s first integrated, commercial, industrial-scale plant for making synthetic climate-neutral fuels, referred to as eFuels.

The first phase of the project will see around 130,000 liters of eFuels produced as early as 2022, while two further phases will increase capacity to 55 million liters a year by 2024 and 550 million liters by 2026. Porsche teamed up with Siemens Energy on this endeavor, in partnership with the energy firm AME and the petroleum company ENAP, both from Chile, an Italian energy company Enel.

“Electromobility is a top priority at Porsche. eFuels for cars are a worthwhile complement to that – if they’re produced in parts of the world where a surplus of sustainable energy is available. They are an additional element on the road to decarbonisation,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement. “Their advantages lie in their ease of application: eFuels can be used in combustion engines and plug-in hybrids, and can make use of the existing network of filling stations. By using them, we can make a further contribution toward protecting the climate. As a maker of high-performance, efficient engines, we have broad technical expertise. We know exactly what fuel characteristics our engines need in order to operate with minimal impact on the climate. Our involvement in the world’s first commercial, integrated eFuels plant supports the development of the alternative fuels of the future.”

Porsche will be the primary customer for the green fuel, which is generated at the “Haru Oni” project plant through the use of wind power generated in southern Chile. Siemens Energy will be granted around 8 million Euros from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in support of this project.

Siemens will also act as a systems integrator for the development of the “Haru Oni” project, covering the entire value chain from power generation with its Gamesa wind turbines, to producing green hydrogen, to converting it into synthetic fuel.

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