Audi is currently working on bringing a fuel with just three ingredients to industrial scale production.
Water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen – that’s it.
The German automaker’s “e-diesel” takes carbon dioxide from the air, achieving a net zero carbon footprint by curbing carbon that’s released into the atmosphere through fossil fuels.
“If we can make widespread use of CO2 as a raw material, we will make a crucial contribution to climate protection and the efficient use of resources, and put the fundamentals of the ‘green economy’ in place,” said German Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka in praise of the technology.
The project is a partnership between Audi and German alternative energy company Sunfire, which is currently limited to producing only 3,000 litres of e-diesel over the next few months.
Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen is very optimistic: “If we get the first sales order, we will be ready to commercialize our technology.
This isn’t exactly a new idea however, as this is known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, which has been around for over 80 years. People have tried it in the past, and have struggled with energy inneficiency problems. But hopefully Audi, the powerhouse that it is, can sort these problems out.
So maybe hold off on that Prius for now…
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Photo Credit: Audi, Handout
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