Porsche will test the first 2,600 litres of electric petrol produced as part of the historic Haru Oni project in southern Chile as it travels 16,800 kilometres to eastern England.
The Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup, a series of races utilising identical Porsche 911 vehicles that are contested during Formula One grand prix weekends in Europe, will feature the carbon-neutral synthetic fuel that is made from wind-powered green hydrogen and CO2 absorbed directly from the air.
The first attempt to commercialise e-fuels in a carbon-neutral manner is Haru Oni, which is now a modest pilot plant close to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the Americas, but is slated for a significant development in the next years.
It produces synthetic fuel by splitting water molecules within a Siemens Energy PEM electrolyser using electricity from a nearby 3.4 GW Siemens Gamesa wind turbine. Using Global Thermostat technology, carbon dioxide is first mixed with hydrogen to make syngas, which is then fed through a catalyst inside a reactor to catalyse a chemical reaction that yields green methanol (CH3OH).
The first shipment of 2,600 litres is already sailing in a container ship towards the Haltermann Carless refinery in Harwich, eastern England, where it will undergo testing to determine whether it can be used into unaltered engines.
