An alternative to gasoline may soon be on the horizon, and no, it isn't electricity. According to Porsche, a 911 model was successfully fueled with a new synthetic fuel created out of thin air and water.
The fuel has been developed by a company called Highly Innovative Fuels, which the automaker has invested in as an alternative to going all-electric.
The fuel is made in Punta Arenas, Chile, at wind-powered plants near the tip of South America. The location is great for wind power, as it blows an average of 270 days per year there, according to a release from Porsche.
Part of the reason behind Porsche's search for an alternative fuel that would work in current engines, is its hesitancy to go electric.
“The potential of eFuels is huge. There are currently more than 1.3 billion vehicles with combustion engines worldwide. Many of these will be on the roads for decades to come, and eFuels offer the owners of existing cars a nearly carbon-neutral alternative. As the manufacturer of high-performance, efficient engines, Porsche has a wide range of know-how in the field of fuels,” Michael Steiner, a member of the Executive Board for Development and Research at Porsche AG, shared in the release.
By combining carbon captured from the atmosphere and hydrogen sourced from the water, Highly Innovative Fuels is able to create methane that is then converted into a fuel that works similarly to traditional gasoline.
To make the fuel even more appealing, Porsche shared with Fox News that there were no changes made to the 911 that was filled with it, meaning that almost any gasoline car could utilize it. The only issue that remains is its price tag.
The cost per gallon is currently $45, however, a report from Motor Trend says that it should be under $8 per gallon by 2026.
Porsche has plans to use the fuel in special projects, including the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racing series.
Currently, the plant making the fuel has an output of 34,342 gallons a year, but by the end of this decade, it should be around 145.3 million gallons a year.
The fuel does still emit carbon dioxide when it is burned. Still, it is considered a net-zero fuel because it requires about the same amount of carbon to create it.
With nations continuing to move toward net-zero goals, fuel could soon be another player in the automobile industry, rivaling the ever-growing electric vehicle market.
Other car companies are also looking for alternatives. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann shared with Fox News that his company is investigating what net-zero rules mean for the future of car manufacturing.
“This is something that we are still looking into, we have to see what the legislature is going to say in the next couple of years if there is an opportunity or a window open also for those types of cars with hybrids still in the 30s by utilizing synthetic fuel,” Winkelmann said.
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