News JVTech The synthetic fuel of the future that will save thermal cars is already on sale
Published on 03/01/2023 at 09:20
The first synthetic fuel on the market is finally here and could save thermal cars from the banishment of 2035. A smoother transition to truly clean energies.
Going from Formula 1 to creating carbon-neutral fuel
The British company Zero Petroleum has just launched the first synthetic fuel on the market. A direct, no-modification replacement for Unleaded, Diesel, Kerosene or Aviation Gasoil.
Formula 1 fans will recognize the legendary Paddy Lowe, a genius engineer with 12 world championship titles and 158 races won as an engineer. A revolutionary who changed Formula 1 and who since his retirement from the discipline has created Zero Petroleum.
With the chemical engineer, professeur Nilay Shah, they both designed a carbon-neutral fuel that uses both hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Most impressive is that the final fuel requires no change to conventional combustion engines.
Already it is necessary to understand the operation of this fuel which explains to carry out in 3 minutes what the Earth puts 600 million years to carry out. A white paper has thus been published to describe the procedure for creating the fuel. At first wind turbines and solar panels, created electricity. This allows on the one hand to capture the carbon from the air and on the other to do an electrolysis of the water to extract dihydrogen.
These two elements are then combined to synthesize the fuel. The waste product of this reaction is oxygen. On the other hand, after combustion in an engine, the fuel does release carbon dioxide. But this is the “neutral” aspect of the reaction. Fuel captures as much carbon as it releases during combustion.
The other advantage, unlike biofuels, is that you don’t need crop fields that could be used for human food. Large-scale production is also easily achievable.
A world record and fuel for sale
The entire communication campaign is centered around the Guinness world record for having made the first flight with synthetic fuel. A feat that shows that the fuel does exist and that it is perfectly functional.
This also makes it possible to move on to the next stage: marketing. For this they sell 8 cans of 20 liters to a few people. Well, for the price, you have to hang on, because you will have to pay 50,000 pounds sterling, or 56,530 euros. For 20 liters of fuel, it’s a bit expensive. But as clarified, it’s not about the commercial value of the fuel, but “It’s the chance to own a piece of history.”
Ultimately, the goal is to make a fuel that will be less than 3 pounds per litre. Certainly it is a more expensive fuel than the current ones, but the subsidies will surely be there to help you get going and arrive at a lower price.
