Synthetic Fuels:
The Future of Fuel?

Authored by

Alex Payne
Future Fuels Consultant

The Status Quo

Synthetic Fuels have been touted as both the saviour of the internal combustion engine, and a well-intentioned but expensive side quest¹ on the route to sustainable movement – but the reality lies somewhere between the two.

Synthetic Fuels or electro-fuels (e-fuels) are created through the combination of carbon and hydrogen. Creating a hydrocarbon fuel (i.e. gasoline) that is chemically similar – or, in some cases, identical – to hydrocarbon fuels that are traditionally sourced through naturally forming gas, coal or oil (fossil fuels).

These differ from other sustainable fuels, like Biofuel, which derive their carbon from various sources of biomass, such as crop yields (first generation), waste/non-food crops (second generation), and algae (third generation).

Sustainable Synthetic Fuels burn just like their fossil-based counterpart but do not contribute additional CO₂ to the atmosphere and, in some cases, without pollutant byproducts normally associated with traditional fuel. If created using green hydrogen or renewable energy, they have the potential to turn an unsustainable engine into a carbon neutral vehicle with no modifications – emitting just CO₂ and H₂O in some cases.

Future and Synthetic Fuels are often narrowly focused on the automotive space but this can distract from the key fact that automotive needs and interests are not the only major driver of climate change. Industries such as aviation, shipping and agriculture all need long-term, sustainable solutions away from fossil-based power; in some cases, liquid fuel solutions are the only practical option.

Liquid fuel delivery rests on the need for a high energy density power source that isn’t heavy. In the case of Formula 1, heavier and wider battery-enabled cars can still deliver a competitive race series but weight and size handicap long-haul passenger flights, cargo-intensive shipping containers, or even a performance motorbike.

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Pick A Side

There are various tribes when it comes to fueling cars; mainly full electrification versus future fuels (i.e. Synthetic Fuels, E-Fuels, BioFuel or Hydrogen). However. with each, context is key.

EV transitions are easier to promote in densely populated cities or regions with consistent infrastructure investment such as Norway or China¹. However, factoring larger geographies or lower investment makes this a tougher argument.

One of the strongest benefits of a transition to Synthetic Fuels is when the degree to which modern mobility has been established around liquid fuel delivery, transport and storage is reviewed. Namely, the volume of ICE vehicles still on the road, the storage facilities utilized by fuel stations, the land- and sea-based tankers that deliver fuel across borders… all these need replacing or adapting if we are truly to transition away from liquid fuel delivery. This is expensive and would also generate significant emissions in construction.

While Lithium is an abundant resource; our mining operations are not yet at the scale to make a global battery reliance feasible and recycling technology will need to evolve significantly in order to avoid inefficiency.

Hydrogen is in a similar position to Synthetic Fuel, insofar as it is a relatively immature technology and needs years of investment to become viable; it lacks the benefit of being an immediate solution for our existing infrastructure.

So What’s the Hold Up?

While Synthetic Fuels could be adopted fairly frictionlessly; their availability, pricing and energy efficiency² in production are not yet ‘market ready’. It therefore might be argued that the energy required for processes like Direct Air Capture and Electrolysis could instead make an immediate impact within an EV battery. The challenge for Synthetic Fuel is to raise awareness rapidly, and convince the market that it is worth the scale of investment. Then it can legitimately challenge the more widely-acknowledged EV alternative.

Photo by Chris Leipelt on Unsplash

What Does this Mean for Sports?

Synthetic Fuels have the potential to impact how we perceive and grow automotive sport and culture. In Formula 1, 100% Synthetic Fuel would allow for ICE engines to remain at the heart of the sport while still balanced with 50% of power being provided through an electric motor. As engineers and audiences grow more familiar with the technology and its climate positive approach, the sport could feasibly revert to fully or predominantly ICE-powered vehicles and larger engines that provide an unrivalled soundtrack to the sport.

What is especially interesting is that by adopting Synthetic Fuel, teams would enjoy greater freedom to engineer fuels to increase its performance. Cleaner fuels provide more room for increased energy density …so a team’s choice of fuel provider could soon become as vital as its power unit.

Sustainable fuels also could facilitate racing brands, such as NASCAR, to maintain their traditions while still pushing their sports forward. The British Touring Car Championship has moved closer to fully sustainable fuel-use following a successful test at Silverstone this year⁴. These championships thrive on audience familiarity with their brands and vehicles and Sustainable and Synthetic Fuels will help them maintain this in the long term. The same applies to classic and vintage car race series. Cleaner fuels could help maintain heritage engines for generations to come.

The Circus Comes to Town

Formula 1’s carbon footprint has long been a sore subject. Being able to sustainably fuel its travel will help repair the sport’s image in the eyes of some critics …and potential commercial partners. Freeing itself from climate guilt will also provide the opportunity to expand; the whispered return to Africa could become a louder voice soon.

Formula 1 isn’t the only culpable sport. Elite teams and athletes are seen to be over utilizing private flights for domestic fixtures; with some flights to football fixtures reported to be as short as 27 minutes⁵; on the flipside, sports like NFL and NBA are expanding beyond US borders – and the emissions’ impact will not have gone unnoticed.

Photo by Pascal Richier on Unsplash

So who are the first movers in this space:

Porsche incorporated e-fuels into the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, running all cars on Synthetic Fuel developed at its Haru ONI Plant in Chile. The fuel is developed from renewable hydrogen and offers a “potentially near-carbon-neutral” solution
Races at the 2024 Goodwood Revival ran exclusively with sustainable fuel: Every vehicle that competed ran fuel that was, at least, 70% sustainable
ENEOS, Japan’s first Synthetic Fuel Plant started production, aiming for production of 160 litres of ‘virtually carbon-neutral’ fuel every day
Synthetic Fuel Startup Infinium received $1.1billion backing from Brookfield Asset Management
The South Australian Government recently signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Synthetic Fuel producer Zero, F1 legend, Paddy Lowe’s new project

What is clear is that for all sports, whether on track, snow, tarmac or in the air, adopting climate-neutral solutions will help PR, open up new sponsorships and alleviate fan guilt – and we can already see which smart brands are ahead of the curve.

1) ARSTechnica, May 2023
2) Sustainability by Numbers, Jan 2023
3) PIN Petrochemical, Chemical and Energy, Nov 2022
4) Motoring Research.com, October 2024
5) BBC Sport, March 2023

About the Author

A strategic marketer and client partner, Alex Payne has enjoyed a career out of making the complicated simple. His experience across automotive and ESG industries, alongside collaboration with leading Synthetic Fuel brand, Zero, has created an understanding and passion for the advance of future fuels.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-payne-131207a5/

Synthetic Fuels: The Future of Fuel?