E-fuels have potential to lower carbon emissions of existing cars
Plant would produce 800m litres of e-fuels per year
The largest e-fuels plant in the world is set to break ground. Porsche-backed HIF Global has gotten permission to start work on the new facility in Texas. It will be the first commercial-scale e-fuel plant in the world.
E-Fuels are a synthetic replacement for gasoline made from captured carbon mixed with hydrogen. They’re a direct replacement for gasoline in your car’s tank, and the idea is that by using sustainably sourced electricity they have a net zero carbon emissions cycle. The carbon that leaves the vehicle through the tailpipe is nearly the same as what goes into making and moving the fuel.
Porsche has been a proponent of the fuel, proudly showing off a small-scale plant in Chile. It says the fuel there costs around $55/L to make. This new site would have to slash that figure to make any economic sense.
The HIF Global plant is set for Matagorda, TX, about two hours south of Houston on the Texas coast. It’s not clear where the site would source its electricity, but it will use electrolysis to get its hydrogen.
The site expects to make around 800 million litres of fuel per year, a mix of shipping fuels (for ships, trucks, and trains) and gasoline. That amount of fuel would have “the potential to decarbonize over 400,000 vehicles” HIF said.
Construction is expected to start next year, once contracting and financing are complete.
