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ExxonMobil and Porsche to test lower-carbon fuel in race conditions
ExxonMobil and Porsche are testing advanced biofuels and renewable, lower-carbon eFuels, as part of a new agreement to find pathways toward potential future
consumer adoption.
The first iteration of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel is a blend of primarily advanced biofuels specially formulated by ExxonMobils in-house team of scientists and engineers. The fuel will be tested in race conditions with Porsches high-performance motorsports engines during the 2021 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race series.
Porsche and ExxonMobils collaboration will also focus on eFuels, which are synthetic fuels made from hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide. As early as
2022, the companies plan to test the second iteration of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel, which will contain eFuel components. The eFuel is anticipated to achieve a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of up to 85 percent, when blended to current
market fuel standards for todays passenger vehicles.
The electrification of our vehicles is of highest priority to us, said Michael
Steiner, Member of the Executive Board, Research and Development of Porsche. eFuels are a good complement to our powertrain strategy. They allow our customers to drive cars with conventional combustion engines as well as plug-in hybrids with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. The collaboration with ExxonMobil enables us to test the eFuels under demanding conditions on the racing track. This is a further step towards
making eFuels an affordable and lower greenhouse gas emission substitute to conventional fuels.
The eFuel will be sourced from the Haru Oni
pilot plant based in Chile, which generates hydrogen that is then combined with captured carbon dioxide drawn from the atmosphere to produce methanol. ExxonMobil is providing a license and support for the proprietary technology to convert the
methanol to gasoline, which will result in a lower-carbon fuel.
In the pilot phase, around 35,000 gallons of eFuels will be produced in 2022. As the
fuels primary user, Porsche will use the eFuels from Chile among others in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup starting in the season of 2022.
Over
the past quarter century, we have worked together with Porsche to develop high-performance products that support Porsches vehicle performance on the racetrack and on the road, said Andy Madden, vice president of strategy and planning for
ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants. Our continued collaboration on renewable and eFuels is a critical step in assessing the technical capability and commercial viability of fuels that can significantly reduce emissions.
The first on-track testing of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel began on March 30, 2021 in Zandvoort, Netherlands, and
will continue throughout the 2021 and 2022 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race series.
The collaboration with Porsche builds on ExxonMobils continuing
efforts to develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions, including high-efficiency fuels and lubricants, advanced plastics and other products that can enable cars and trucks to use less fuel. For example, the two companies have collaborated on
a line of specially formulated lubricants for the electric vehicles market, Mobil EVTM range. In January, ExxonMobil announced the creation of a new business, ExxonMobil Low
Carbon Solutions, to commercialise its extensive low-carbon technology portfolio and plans to invest $3 billion on lower emission energy solutions through 2025.
Over the past two decades, ExxonMobil has invested more than $10 billion to research, develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions, resulting in
highly efficient operations that have eliminated or avoided approximately 480 million tonnes of CO2 emissionsthe equivalent of taking more than 100 million passenger
vehicles off the road for a year.