Audi's latest project is a plant in Dresden that makes diesel fuel from CO2, water and green electricity. The automaker and its partners Climeworks and sunfire opened the plant this week and are demonstrating that "industrialization of e-fuels is possible."
The pilot plant was officially brought on stream with Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, German Federal Minister for Education and Research, and Dr. Hagen Seifert, Head of Environmental Assessments, Renewable Energies and New Materials at AUDI AG all on hand, according to Audi.
The sunfire plant operates according to the power-to-liquid principle and requires carbon dioxide, water and electricity as raw materials. Carbon dioxide is taken straight from the ambient air using direct air capturing, a technology developed by Swiss partner Climeworks.
A separate process involves an electrolysis unit powered with green electricity, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, according to the automaker. Hydrogen is then reacted with the carbon dioxide in two chemical processes conducted at 220 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 25 bar. This produces an energetic liquid, which is made up of hydrocarbon compounds, called Blue Crude.
Audi says this process has been in the works since 2009 and is at least 70 percent efficient.
"We have been working since 2009 with various partners, including in the USA, on the development of CO2-neutral fuels," said Audi's technology and communications manager, Oliver Strohbach to AutoWorldNews. "However, the basic research, such as that by the experts at sunfire, has been ongoing for 20 years,"
"The point now is to demonstrate feasibility and industrialization, to develop the optimal blends and to find the appropriate distribution methods together," he added.
The pilot plant on the sunfire grounds in Dresden-Reick is capable of producing around 160 liters of Blue Crude per day. Approximately 80 percent of that can then be turned into synthetic diesel.
Audi's "e-diesel" also doesn't contain any sulfur and aromatics, and has a high cetane number, which means that it ignites very easily. It can also be used as a drop-in fuel, since its chemical properties allow it to be blended in any ratio with fossil diesel, according to the automaker.
If the automaker's research goes well, you could see this type of fuel in production vehicles like the A3 TDI eventually. The company doesn't currently have plans to add another plant, though that could change sometime in the near future.
"Such e-diesel plants could in principle be built in other regions around the world. At the moment though, we are focusing on the work with this pilot plant," said Strohbach.
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