제 14 호 Breakthrough for Green Planet : Behold the “e-Fuel”
Kicker: SCIENCE
Breakthrough for Green Planet : Behold the “e-Fuel”
Brand New Type of Fuel Takes Advantages of Older Type of Internal Combustion
Do-Hyuk Kim, Reporter
Recent dramatic changes in global climate recalled the need for urgent tactics to slow it down. Reports estimated 1.5 degrees rise in earth’s average temperature since industrialization within two decades, whopping ten years faster - which is alarmingly quick. So quick that officials at the G20 summit agreed to crack down on emissions harder than ever before last November. Because carbon dioxide emitted from internal combustion engines is widely known as the main culprit of breakdown in ozone layers, most of the developed nations are announcing ban on internal combustion engines in the near future simultaneously. But steps heading for completely getting rid of internal combustion engines are currently facing lots of realistic obstacles, especially in industrial workforces. Most of ordinary consumers are still hesitating to swap their daily transportation to electric cars too, due to their high prices derived from expensive batteries. The sudden spread of COVID-19 didn’t help, either – taking prices of base materials for manufacturing battery hike alongside all other minerals. Electrification never felt so hard in the world still under the influence of coronavirus, asking the need for new solution. Mercifully, there is an e-Fuel, which is surprisingly unfamiliar in terms of terminology and what might be the genuine answer for this biggest crisis which humanity has ever faced.
https://www.wirtschaftsforum.de/interviews/swe-suedwestenergie-gmbh/energiewende-mit-e-fuels
So, what exactly is an e-Fuel? Life of an e-Fuel begins from the biggest source in the entire planet for collecting water – which is the ocean. Water can be gathered from various channels, but it is crucial not to effect fresh water that humanity can drink for their lives. This makes e-Fuel’s main ingredient sourced from seas ranging worldwide, which is a good thing, since those seas can provide water endlessly until our humanity lasts. Because seawater contains salt and is not pure enough to become a part of fuel, collected seawater passes through a series of desalinization to make preparation for electrolysis. Electrolysis sends electrical currents through H2O, separating out hydrogen which will be later combined with carbon dioxide to be reborn as a form of fuel. Electricity used for electrolysis can be brought from renewable sources such as wind farms. None of fossil fuel is used until this process, and things get even better. The hydrogen gained from previous activities is mixed with CO2 produced from ordinary industrial activities. Combination of hydrogen and carbon dioxide brings us the “e-methanol”, which has versatility to be converted into fossil fuels we can see today in gas stations : petrol, diesel or kerosene. The final form is quite familiar, but the entire process from collection to fusion hasn’t made any impact on Earth’s atmosphere.
Giant Benefits in Return from Minutely Noticed Newcomer
Fruits that can be attained from this totally carbon-neutral e-Fuel are genuinely huge, and its benefits start from eradication of worries about air pollution. Biggest pollutant of Earth’s atmosphere is created from vast rows of factories placed around the globe producing goods for consumers. These factories – especially the ones placed in developing countries such as China or India – emit tons of carbon dioxide while they are active, heatting up the pace of skyrocketing Earth’s average temperature. Production of e-Fuel can cut down this tendency dramatically, taking away those CO2 to use as a material for e-Fuel. Freeing ourselves from major pollutant is quite a big deal, and at the same time we can produce fuel for other social infrastructure to keep on running. Cycle of capturing carbon dioxide from running factories and hydrogen from waves of ocean is basically endless, so infinite possibility of production is assured, too.
The second benefit we can appreciate is that major shift for electrification among the entire industry is no longer needed. Major companies producing automobiles already have announced to swap internal combustion engines for more environment-friendly battery powered electric motors. That sounds fine for ones who can afford electric vehicles, but not everyone can and people who work in transport business using their big diesel trucks are likely to face practical problems. It is a critical issue since these businesses run through the entire industry, making all of social infrastructure under its influence. Production of e-Fuel can let those businesses work just as they have done before, also can buy some time and money for automobile companies to invest in other ways. Some experts pointed out questionable aspects of the entire industry aiming solely on electrification, claiming that mining nickel for battery production harasses the environment in even more severe ways such as destroying forests. Switching to e-Fuels can walk away safely from these worries in a single opportunity.
Tradeoff for Saving the Environment Is Your Wallet Becoming Thinner
However, not all of the story is a fairy tale in e-Fuel’s world. Production costs of e-Fuel is much higher than fossil fuels that we use today, resulting in exceptionally high prices tagged on them. e-Petrol made from e-Fuel is currently placed in normally unacceptable range of around ten dollars per liter. That is more than three times even in today’s standards where oil crisis departed from Moscow is ongoing. High costs for e-Fuel production are mostly due to expensive labor costs for extracting hydrogen from seawater, but optimists expect these prices will go down to a reasonable level very soon benefited by the technological advancements. A report from the EU made a bold claim that the price of e-Fuel will go below one euro per liter, but only time will tell. Imposing massive amount of taxes on other types of fuels and using those money for subsidy on e-Fuel can be another suggestion, but that involves a chance of dragging the entire economy into decline. This is why even though e-Fuel carries tangible benefits, careful consideration should be thoroughly done to really dive into it.
Concepts of e-Fuel might be vague and confusing at this period where only the early development has been done, but the fact that it is a new solution for seven billion inhabitants living on this green planet to sustain their lives in the imminent future is clear. e-Fuel’s strengths on reducing carbon emissions are currently hiding behind the problem of low economic efficiency, but as technology develops, my thoughts are on the possibility of e-Fuel dictating most carbon emissions down to near nil. The message from current development of e-Fuel is definite : it is time for all of us to finally give attention to the urgent mission of cleaning up Earth’s atmosphere, and no longer overlook unusual climate issues. If we don’t take time on examining our environment, it might be impossible to bring it back to hospitable conditions.
Sources:
https://youtu.be/G8uJjP_gMy8?t=304
https://m.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/A2021111114450001921
https://www.motortrend.com/features/porsche-supercup-efuel-direct-air-carbon-capture/
https://www.wirtschaftsforum.de/interviews/swe-suedwestenergie-gmbh/energiewende-mit-e-fuels (Image)
