Automakers may prioritize EVs for their future lineup, but they also explore ways of keeping the ICE alive in the zero-emission era, including synthetic fuels. In that context, Japanese petroleum company Eneos organized test runs of a Toyota Prius PHEV and GR86 filled with a locally-produced e-fuel made from CO2 and hydrogen.
The two vehicles were put to the test on Sunday, May 28, at the Toyota Traffic Safety Center Mobilita which is located next to the Fuji Speedway in Japan. For the demonstration run, the fuel tanks of the Prius and the GR86 were filled with a mixture of 10% e-fuel and 90% regular petrol. The press release doesn’t mention any mechanical modifications to the vehicles wearing the fancy liveries, hinting that the mixture is compatible with their stock powertrains.
More: Toyota And Exxon Testing Synthetic Fuel That Cuts ICE Emissions By Up To 75%
Tsuneharu Sato, President and CEO of Toyota test drove the vehicles, saying that they felt no different than stock.
Eneos suggests that the synthetic fuel is chemically similar to gasoline, but can be made using hydrogen from renewable sources and CO2 recovered from factories. This production process could offset the CO2 emissions of the vehicles throughout their lifecycle, contributing to a carbon-neutral future.
Among the advantages of e-fuels is the fact they can use the existing infrastructure in terms of transportation, storage, and distribution. At the same time, they have great energy density and are largely compatible with the current powertrain technology.
While all those things sound great on paper, there is still a lot of work required until e-fuels are ready to take over the world. Eneos is currently planning a small-scale production with a capacity of a single barrel of e-fuel per day. Takeshi Saito, President and CEO of Eneos said that the company will start with a low-carbon mixture of petrol, synthetic fuels, and biofuels, before establishing a large-scale production of e-fuels towards 2030.
