DE
The Swiss construction company Eberhard has signed a long-term purchase agreement with Synhelion for solar diesel. From 2027, the company's construction machinery shall be powered by renewable fuel – a first in the construction sector.
As part of the DeCarTrans project, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg has processed industrially produced e-methanol from Denmark into synthetic gasoline for the first time. This step is considered a technological milestone for industrial e-fuel production.
Finland is massively expanding its CO₂-neutral power generation to lay the foundation for up to 100 e-fuel plants. Low electricity prices, biogenic CO₂, and clear political guidelines make the country increasingly attractive for the hydrogen economy.
The PEM Chair of RWTH Aachen has developed a modular fuel cell drive for heavy trucks. The road-approved prototype was created in the SeLv project, which has now been completed after five years.
HIF Global, Toyota Chile, and MITTA are testing the use of e-fuels in hybrid vehicles for tourism in Patagonia as part of the "Route Zero" initiative. The aim is to demonstrate the practical suitability of synthetic fuels in remote regions.
Automobile manufacturers are to reduce the emissions of their vehicle fleets by 90 percent by 2035. The remaining ten percent can be compensated with e-fuels and green steel from Europe. Hydrogen Europe hopes for a new lead market for climate-friendly steel.
Methanol Reformer delivers a system to Japan for the first time. The L18 reformer is set to produce hydrogen from methanol at Mitsubishi Gas Chemical's Niigata site starting in 2026. The project also serves to validate the technology according to Japanese standards.
The German company Hy2gen is planning a 200 MW plant for the production of synthetic fuels at the port of Oulu in Finland. The city is set to become the leading e-fuels location in the Baltic Sea region. A final investment decision is still pending.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) receives around 157 million euros for the operation of the technology platform for electricity-based fuels in Leuna. The facility is set to test power-to-liquid processes on a semi-industrial scale until 2035.
Methanol Reformer delivers the first autonomous "power container" in Europe to the Spanish ferry operator Baleària. It is intended to first produce hydrogen and then electricity from e-methanol for an electric ferry.
Rheinmetall plans a Europe-wide network of modular e-fuel plants for the decentralised supply of armed forces with synthetic fuels. Partners such as Sunfire, Greenlyte, and Ineratec provide key technologies for the "Giga PtX" project.
The Swiss airline SWISS has used solar fuel from the cleantech company Synhelion for the first time in regular flight operations. The delivery marks a technological milestone for the decarbonization of aviation.
Intercontinental Energy, a global developer of large-scale green hydrogen projects, has unveiled a patented system called P2(H2)Node. Developed in Australia, the technology aims to reduce the production costs of green hydrogen by 10 to 20 percent, thereby accelerating the widespread adoption of this energy carrier.
HIF Global delivers e-gasoline from Chile to Shell in Hamburg, where it is processed for Porsche events. The agreement aims to demonstrate the everyday practicality of synthetic fuels in combustion engines.
Following Abo Energy, Energiequelle has also announced a major project in Finland’s Oulu region. Electrolysis capacity of up to 500 MW could be installed there by 2033.
Industry fears that so-called e-fuels could be a similar flop to biofuels are high. There are too many parallels. Which is why some players are very unsettled. There are also numerous critics warning against extending the life of internal combustion engines. On the other hand, synthetic fuels offer a great opportunity, especially for the until now market-dominating corporations to maintain their influence. In addition, many billions of euros in revenue beckon. Hence this attempt to shed some light on the e-fuel debate.
It will come as no surprise that the case for e-fuels is preached particularly by those branches of industry whose products and infrastructure are designed to a large extent around fossil fuels. The hope that carbon-neutral natural gas, gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and kerosene would allow our lives to continue undisturbed by the energy transition is being thankfully absorbed by both society and the political establishment. The fact that vested economic interests primarily lie behind this e-fuel propaganda is being intentionally ignored.
If there were to be a widespread switchover to e-fuels for transportation we would be shooting ourselves in the foot in environmental terms. The more we rely on e-fuels, the more impossible it will be for us to turn around the world’s energy system before it’s too late. The internal combustion...
Our society is facing great challenges. The climate targets for 2030 (Klimaziele 2030) must be achieved without negatively impacting our mobility and Germany as an economic center. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to new battery electric and fuel cell vehicles, existing vehicles must...
