Sustainable liquid fuels are clearly going to be a vital element in the decarbonization of transportation, in automotive and in other sectors such as aviation and marine. While electrification will account for part of the vehicle fleet, there will still be hard-to-electrify, high-energy-density applications and a legacy fleet of ICE vehicles in operation for several decades.
The development of such fuels is gathering pace. At the forefront of the creation of truly ‘drop-in’ solutions is Haltermann Carless, an HCS Group company with over 160 years’ experience in the hydrocarbon industry. “As a group, we want to go fossil-free,” says Alessandro Ferrari, head of development of performance fuels at Haltermann Carless. The company is not solely an automotive fuel supplier; for example, it is the first German company to pursue the development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production plant and has signed an agreement for the supply of SAF to Lufthansa. Furthermore, the chemical company is also heavily involved in the production of sustainable industrial solvents and other renewable chemicals.
HCS Group recognizes that the global energy requirements for transportation will be diverse. “We believe that global sustainable mobility is a mix of different solutions,” Ferrari explains. “Fossil-free liquid fuels will play a fundamental role to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the existing fleet, and also the next generation of ICEs.” This final point is an important one. ICEs will continue to be produced for the foreseeable future and their efficiency will increase. “Part of that means moving to higher compression ratios, pre-chamber spark plug, lean combustion, which in turn needs fuels with greater knock resistance.”
Relatively speaking, it is still early days for the sustainable fuels industry, but development is moving at pace. Ferrari highlights several of the key challenges. “For the maximum greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, you of course want 100% fossil-free fuel. But at the same time, that fuel still needs to be compliant with regulations and its price must remain viable, balancing between performance and cost.” He points out that currently, because of the relatively small volumes of fuel in production, the cost of feedstocks remains high. “Because it is a niche product, you don’t have those economies of scale yet.”
Then there are the ICE-specific challenges to address. “The fuel must be compatible with all the engine parts, fuel lines, tanks and other components, which is also a warranty matter for vehicle manufacturers. Then one has the combustion performance, not just the efficiency but also the emissions, which are not only CO2. We aim for clean combustion, low emissions and a drop-in solution.”
An accusation often leveled at synthetic fuels and biofuels is that they are an inefficient use of renewable energy. However, the areas around the world where there is the greatest potential to generate low-cost renewable energy are not necessarily where it is most needed. Synthetic fuels are an ideal medium through which to distribute this energy.
Ferrari also highlights that fuels can be decarbonized at every stage of the production process. “The tank-to-wheel emissions of renewable fuels can be considered neutral because for producing these fuels, the amount of CO2 emitted at the tailpipe has been originally captured both for synthetic and biofuels.” He also noted that, “The well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions using biofuels today is reduced by around 72-75% versus fossil fuels, as the biomass itself is a carbon capturing system. By using renewable energy for the synthetic fuels, more than 92% well-to-wheel GHG reduction can be achieved.”
Performance development
Mainstream bio and synthetic fuel supplies are still limited in many markets. For example, the UK only has 10% renewable blends on general sale. However, in motorsport, the uptake of sustainable fuels has been enthusiastic. The last five years have seen multiple high-profile race series adopt sustainable fuels, and HCS Group, via its ETS Racing Fuels brand, is heavily involved in the supply of fuels for competition and classic vehicles.
The acceleration in the adoption of these sustainable fuels has impressed Ferrari. “In 2021, it started with the WTCR [World Touring Car Cup] mandating 15% renewable content in its fuels, then the next year you had the WRC [World Rally Championship] pushing straight to 100%, complete with hybrid systems,” he says. “You have to acknowledge the role of the FIA in this situation, having the guts to say, ‘Let’s try another way,’ and going to 100% renewable fuels.” Other series have followed suit, including the World Endurance Championship (100% biofuel) and F1 steadily upping the renewable content of its fuels, targeting 100% in 2026.
This is why motorsport is such a vital proving ground, giving brands such as Haltermann Carless and ETS Racing Fuels a sandbox in which they can develop fuels hand in hand with some of the latest advances in ICE technology. “It is still an evolution, and the next-generation fuels we are working on are looking to improve their properties,” says Ferrari. “For example, removing some of the components that are particularly heavy in the cut of gasoline while also improving the evaporation patterns. You could also use ICE hardware modification to approach this, but that is not the point of a drop-in fuel. We want to have the fuels working in every vehicle and with every technology.
“In the past and still today, the easiest way to make bio or sustainable fuels is to have high alcohol content. The problem is that these fuels are not drop-in. Now, we have blends of hydrocarbons, and that leads you toward much more of a drop-in fuel. There is still plenty to do, like with the knock resistance, evaporation and the suitability of the fuels for use with direct injection.”
Moving beyond fuels, he points out that there are benefits to be had from removing fossil content from other hydrocarbon-based fluids, including lubricants. “That will go together with fuel and engine development. There are still a lot of engines to be developed in the future and development of new fuels and lubricants will be needed for those.”
Ferrari is of the opinion that the market is already there for increased production of fossil-free fuels. However, “Regulations globally need to catch up and encourage their widespread adoption, also by providing investment security. Fortunately, the trend seems to be toward this.”
It will then be up to companies such as HCS Group to ensure they are ready for the market opening up. “We strongly believe we have the capabilities and tools, and the rightcompany size, to be able to find the market synergies in an intelligent way, how to use the hydrocarbon streams, defossilize them and create that future readiness in the market,” concludes Ferrari.
More information on Halterman Carless fuels can be found here
