Porsche has started the production of synthetic fuels alongside its international partners in Punta Arenas, Chile.
The facility was opened in the presence of Chilean energy minister Diego Pardow and Porsche Executive Board members Barbara Frenkel and Michael Steiner performed a ceremonial fueling of a Porsche 911 with the first batch of synthetic fuel produced at the site.
The pilot phase of eFuel production will see approximately 130,000 liters (34,342 gallons) produced each year. This fuel will initially be used in projects such as the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, as well as at Porsche Experience Centers. After the pilot phase has run its course, the project will expand and is expected to produce 55 million liters (14.43 million gallons) per year by the middle of the decade. The site will ultimately be able to produce 550 million liters (145.3 million gallons) of eFuel per year.
“Porsche is committed to a double-e path: e-mobility and eFuels as a complementary technology,” member of the Executive Board for Procurement at Porsche AG, Barbara Frenkel said. “Using eFuels reduces CO2 emissions. Looking at the entire traffic sector, the industrial production of synthetic fuels should keep being pushed forward worldwide. With the eFuels pilot plant, Porsche is playing a leading role in this development.”
Read: Porsche Is Testing Its Greener Synthetic Fuel On The Track
The south of Chile was chosen because the wind blows for roughly 270 days a year, enabling the wind turbines to operate at full capacity. Additionally, Punta Arenas is near the Straight of Magellan, meaning eFuel can easily be transported and distributed using existing infrastructure.
The German car manufacturer wants to go CO2 neutral across its entire value chain by 2030 and has already invested over $100 million in the development and production of eFuels. It is also planning eFuel plants in the U.S. and Australia.
“The potential of eFuels is huge,” added member of the Executive Board for Development and Research at Porsche AG, 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 eFuels offer the owners of existing cars a nearly carbon-neutral alternative. As the manufacturer of high-performance, efficient engines, Porsche has a wide range of know-how in the field of fuels.”
