What are e-fuels and how can they reduce car emissions?

There's also the argument that e-fuels aren't all that efficient in use. According to Enerdata, vehicles using e-fuels have an energy efficiency measuring 4-5 times lower than battery electric cars. 

Pros of e-fuels

There are a few positives to e-fuels.

Some argue that e-fuels are a cleaner source of energy compared with petrol and diesel, due to the methods that can be used to produce them. Electricity required to produce e-fuels can be generated using solar and wind power.

E-fuels are capable of powering modern cars without the need for modifications. They can also be used in heavy goods vehicles and vans.

While other fuels like hydrogen and electricity require new infrastructure, e-fuels can be used with existing fuel lorries, refineries and pipelines, and filling stations can remain the same. 

Need to fill up a car using e-fuels? You’re in luck: it takes just a few minutes, like filling up with petrol or diesel. 

Cons of e-fuels

The key problem with e-fuels is that they’re costly to produce and can’t yet be produced in large quantities. 

They're also incredibly energy-intensive to produce. In the case of e-fuels, there is a huge energy requirement to overcome to produce the necessary hydrogen. 

T&E suggests the EU would be required to produce one and a half times its current energy production to generate enough electricity to power its entire road fleet using e-fuels. 

In addition, research from the International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT) suggests that around 48% of renewable electricity will be lost during the process of converting e-fuels into liquid. 

For comparison, it was found that when using renewable electricity, a battery electric car could travel up to six times farther than a car using e-fuel. 

Despite being cleaner to produce, e-fuels also still emit gases that are harmful to the environment, similar to petrol and diesel. 

As with fossil fuels, burning them produces poisonous NOx gases and CO, which pose a health risk for local communities.

Which manufacturers are investing in e-fuels?

Porsche is the front-running car maker in e-fuel development. It invested £62 million into pilot production of synthetic fuels in Chile late in 2022, with a target of roughly 28,500 gallons (130,000 litres) annually.

“The potential of e-fuels is huge,” said Porsche research and development executive Michael Steiner. “There are currently more than 1.3 billion vehicles with combustion engines worldwide. Many of these will be on the roads for decades to come, and e-fuels offer the owners of existing cars a nearly carbon-neutral alternative.”

Despite Porsche heavily investing in battery electric vehicles, CEO Oliver Blume has said synthetic fuels could extend the life of the purely combustion-engined 911 until the end of the decade.

Several other car makers, particularly those with low-volume production outputs, are also keen on using e-fuels to retain combustion engines beyond the end of the decade.

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has suggested that “ICE still has a lot to do” and Ineos Automotive CEO Lynn Calder was categoric in predicting “that the combustion engine will continue”.  

Mazda has also expressed interest, with the brand’s deputy general manager of R&D Christian Schultze saying describing e-fuels as "an important addition to electrification, as they are easy to implement and they can give an immense effect to the decarbonisation simply by the high number of cars used.”

Renault-owned sports car maker Alpine is also keen on e-fuels.

However, other car makers, such as Bentley and Volvo, are opposed. 

What does the future look like for e-fuels?

The UK government has yet to factor e-fuels into its emissions-reduction strategy officially.

A report by the Transport Select Committee recently accused the government of “putting all its eggs in one basket” by effectively mandating a widespread transition to battery electric vehicles from 2035. 

The report cited shortcomings in EV charging infrastructure and a shortage of raw materials, which may slow or prevent a smooth transition to EVs.

“As the cliff edge of 2030 (2035, 2040 and 2050) approaches and minds are concentrated, reality will bite,” it said.

The committee urged a “reality check” on the government’s transport strategy and said: “Addressing the existing [petrol and diesel] fleet will be decisive in achieving the UK’s climate goals."

According to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency, producing all of today’s industrial hydrogen output from electricity would create an electricity demand of 3600TWh. 

This is almost 1000TWh more than the EU’s entire energy production last year, of which just 39.4% came from renewables. And that just to match today’s hydrogen output, not the surplus needed for the mass industrialisation of e-fuels; using electricity that could less wastefully power battery electric cars.