The Zuffenhausen-based company is evaluating whether to use carbon dioxide extraction technology from the air in its e-fuels production plant in Chile. Greater efficiency and lower costs for the only possibility that Europe has granted to internal combustion vehicles to be able to be produced and sold even after 2035. A model and details on its operation at the Munich Motor Show
A distant technology in time. Or maybe not. Certainly interesting. Instead of generating new carbon dioxide (CO2) in the fuel production processes, the one already emitted is used, literally taking it out of the air. Because CO2 is still needed by industry. There Porsche is evaluating whether to start experiments in this sense, aimed at the production of synthetic fuels, also known as e-fuels. A system in this sense could be installed in the complex that the Zuffenhausen company has built in Chile. A model of this solution can be seen on the stand set up at the Munich Motor Show.
Capturing CO2: how it works
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If you want to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as not produce new ones, it seems possible to use the existing one. This technology is called Dac, an English acronym for Direct air capturedirect capture from the air. It works like this: the surrounding air is purified of large residues, then it is conveyed to a special filter. The CO2 deposited there (at a high level of purification, therefore particularly useful for industrial use) is then collected and stored in special tanks. Here this problem gas is transformed into raw material. The uses are numerous. But the carbon dioxide thus extracted can also be stored in the ground for a long time. Returning to Porsche, in the Chilean plant CO2 is combined with hydrogen to produce methanol, which is transformed into synthetic fuel. CO2 is currently extracted from organic materials. The energy required for processing comes from the use of wind turbines. If direct air capture technology were employed, it would substantially improve the efficiency of the process and consequently also reduce its cost.
Synthetic fuels: why?
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E-fuels, when produced starting from renewable energy, allow the operation of heat engines almost without net emissions (i.e. considering the entire cycle, from the procurement of energy sources to the construction of the vehicle and the fuel consumption in combustion) of carbon dioxide . Their importance has increased considerably in theEuropean Union since, last March, the Commission, Parliament and the States definitively approved the regulation which will effectively impose the ban on the sale of traditional passenger cars and light commercial vehicles from 2035 in the 27 member countries. With the exception of vehicles that use synthetic fuels. Agreement subject to review in 2026. But for now it’s law.
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