eFuels can become the jack-of-all-trades of climate policy”

eFuels can become the jack-of-all-trades of climate policy”

This number is impressive: the eFuel Alliance Austria had more than 100 members before it even officially existed. Because that is only the case now, after the founding meeting took place in Vienna. And at the same time, an exciting project was announced: what is said to be the most innovative power-to-liquid plant in Europe is being built on the AVL List site in Graz, which will set standards in the production of eFuels (synthetic fuels that are produced from water and carbon dioxide using electricity). 

“If Austria reduces its CO emissions by 2030, as required by the European climate law₂"If we want to reduce emissions by 48 percent, there is no way around the rapid market launch of e-fuels," says Jürgen Roth, CEO of the newly founded Austrian eFuel Alliance. However, he does not want to create competition between different technologies or even demonize e-mobility. "We need both, e-mobility and climate-neutral fuels, that is not an either/or, but a both/and. Both technologies together create more than one alone."

More than a niche

Roth sees eFuels, which are powered by green electricity, water and a sustainable carbon source and are therefore climate-neutral, as more than just a niche product for aviation or shipping. They are sometimes dismissed as such by political players.

In Europe alone, at least 200 million cars will have a diesel or gasoline engine in 2030, estimates the E-Fuel Alliance, which at the European level includes not only oil companies but also Bosch, Mazda and Iveco, as well as the postal service and the WKO in Austria. Not to mention Third World countries, which are still a long way from functioning electromobility with the corresponding comprehensive infrastructure and where, on the other hand, switching to eFuels would be much easier.

Many advantages

The advantages of these new fuels are obvious: you could take over the entire infrastructure of conventional fuel and supply the existing engines for cars with combustion technology in a climate-friendly way. In addition, the liquid form of eFuels has practical advantages, above all that the fuels have a high energy density and, above all, can be stored and transported.

And yet there is a harsh wind blowing against the proponents of this technology, fed by many prejudices, as Allianz emphasizes: The most common arguments against eFuels are that they are too expensive, inefficient and that there are generally far too few eFuels available.

The eFuel Alliance would like to put such claims in perspective: “The fact that eFuels are even more expensive today than conventional fuels does not speak against them, because they are only at the beginning of development,” emphasizes Stephan Schwarzer. The energy expert, who until recently headed the environmental and energy policy department at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, now acts as managing director of the eFuel Alliance Austria. That would change as soon as mass production starts. In the medium term, eFuels will certainly be competitive with conventional fuels.

Work is also being done to improve energy requirements, and eFuels also have the efficiency advantage that, as mentioned, they can be stored and transported, so that they are very efficient from a holistic perspective.

eFuels made in Austria

A new technology made in Austria will soon contribute to increasing efficiency: a power-to-liquid (PtL) system will be built at the location of the drive specialist AVL List in Graz by 2022. The 1 MW PtL pilot plant will in future produce synthetic fuels using green electricity, renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). These fuels should then be able to be further processed into eFuels.

“The potential is enormous,” says Jürgen Roth, who is on board as an investor. Overall, the project is worth a double-digit million amount. According to Roth, in 2030 240 million liters could be generated in Austria simply by using excess electricity from renewable sources. Theoretically, the technology could of course be exported to other countries, especially those that have much more wind and solar energy available due to climate change. And according to Roth, Austria could position itself as a technology leader here.

Prices under 2 euros per liter

Through energy recovery, the plant in Graz is supposed to work extremely efficiently, much more efficiently than comparable plants run by German multinationals. According to Roth, prices of two euros per liter or even lower will be possible and, given the rising prices of conventional fuels, these will probably no longer deter anyone in 2030. The system in Graz will initially be used for demonstration purposes, with the first drop of fuel expected to flow at the end of 2022. After that, scaling would be relatively easy and quick. From 2025, plants could also be built internationally. “Austria could really develop into an innovation leader here,” says Roth, but is currently lacking political support. The head of the Alliance is certain: “eFuels can become the jack-of-all-trades in climate policy.”

Schwarzer adds: "We have to move from talking to doing. There are few measures that can make as much difference in climate policy as eFuels."

A current survey by the Market Institute shows that eFuels can be a solution: Two thirds of Austrians do not believe that electric vehicles will displace combustion engines in new registrations by 2030. Consequently, 80 percent of those surveyed see the need to convert vehicles with combustion engines to climate-neutral fuels. In places where electrification is not so easy, such as trucks and buses, construction machinery or even vintage cars, eFuels are a beacon of hope. There are around 260,000 of the latter in Austria alone. Even such niche applications have great potential. The facility in Graz will now be aimed specifically at improving energy efficiency in production and will be a real milestone.