Locally produced synthetic fuel could extend the lifespan of world’s most famous sports car
Australian e-fuel could be the saving grace of the internal combustion-powered Porsche 911 as electrification continues to sweep across the industry, following Porsche’s $US75 million ($A99m) investment in HIF Global LLC – one of the key players in the establishment of the German car-maker’s Chilean synthetic fuel plant.
Netting Porsche a 12.5 per cent stake in the company, the investment forms part of a global financing round – also involving Andes Mining & Energy (AME), EIG, Baker Hughes Company and Gemstone Investments – that should net HIF Global a “low nine-figure US dollar” cash injection.
According to Porsche, the newfound capital will be used to develop industrial e-fuel facilities in Chile, the US and Australia due to their plentiful amounts of wind and therefore renewable energy.
“Porsche is moving into an attractive business area with its stake in HIF Global LLC,” Porsche AG executive board member for research and development Michael Steiner said today.
“Synthetic fuels offer attractive prospects across transportation sectors, from the automotive industry to the aviation and shipping sectors.
“We see ourselves as pioneers in e-fuels and want to drive the technology. This is one building block in our clear, overall sustainability strategy.”
In an interview with Australiasian media, HIF Global CFO and HIF Australia CEO Ignacio Hernandez revealed feasibility studies had been carried out around the country in an effort to identify possible sites for the Australian facilities, with Victoria, Tasmania and north Queensland emerging as the front-runners.
“We’ve had a number of discussions with different state governments and federal governments and obviously there’s a lot of interest in Australia with green hydrogen and its derivatives so I think we could have a very positive reception there,” he said.
“As we progress with our Australian projects, we obviously hope to engage further.”
Hernandez added the local program would likely follow a similar structure to the one underway in Chile, where an initial plant – generating roughly 300mW – is being established before a “much bigger” plant follows later.
Citing a two-and-a-half-year construction period, Hernandez said the first Australian plant would likely start in “the beginning of 2024 and be operational sometime in ’26”.
While a concrete figure remains up in the air, the local HIF boss nominated an initial build price of around $US1 billion ($A1.32b).
The announcement bodes well for those dreading the Porsche 911’s almost inevitable transition to electrification, which is expected to take a top-down approach starting with the plug-in 911 Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Given Australia has one of the highest market penetrations in the Porsche world, there’s a sweetness in the prospect of locally-produced synthetic fuels preserving the 911’s iconic flat-six combustion engine for another generation or two.
According to Steiner, there is still very much a need for internal combustion engines (ICEs) when it comes to sports cars like the 911 because of the weight of batteries and differing levels of EV infrastructure in various markets.
“If you are looking at more remote areas, if you’re also looking at cars in terms of weight or sports cars there are advantages or still need for ICE-burning cars and, if you would like to have such cars – and we would like to run our beloved 911 for example, based on our flat-six engine – you need a fuel without having the CO2 footprint of fossil fuel,” he said.
“So it [e-fuel] could help in some regions or in some markets.
“From our point of view there will be need for liquid fuel, but in bigger cities where the electric grid is really developed, where there are sufficient super-fast charging stations… the bigger trend will be e-mobility.”
Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle, the Taycan sedan, has been a smash-hit for the company and it will be followed by a battery-powered version of the second-generation Macan medium SUV and new pure-electric 718 Cayman and Boxster sports cars.
But for more than a year now the German sports car-maker has also been looking to synthetic fuel, which will be used in Formula 1 by 2025, in part as a means of shoring up the future of its most iconic model.
Steiner confirmed Porsche’s fabled performance flagship would stick with internal combustion as long as legally and commercially possible.
“If there will be a chance by regulators to run such ICE cars on e-fuels, why should we stop them?” he said.
“We love our cars. High-rev engines, be it naturally aspirated or turbo engines, is something that’s very emotional, very life-like.
“So if there is room for such cars and you could run such cars on e-fuel, why shouldn’t we do that?”
For the time being though, Porsche says the e-fuel yielded by the Haru Oni pilot plant being built in Chile will be used only in “motorsport flagship” projects, before eventually powering Porsche customer cars.
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Keyword: Australian e-fuel to power Porsche