Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup to run exclusively on eFuel

MANILA: The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will run exclusively on electro-fuel (eFuel).

Per the German automotive brand, participants of its one-make race will use fully synthetic eFuel — a first for the series. The said fuel will come from the Haru Oni pilot plant in Chile and is produced ready-for-racing through a so-called blending process.

The near-carbon-neutral fuel will power the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup vehicles when the first race of the series kicks off from May 17-20 at Imola, Italy. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup once again runs as part of the support program at eight European Formula 1 races this year. During the season, the total fuel requirement for up to 32 Cup vehicles is around 50,000 liters.

According to Porsche, the race cars that will run on the said eFuel will be equipped with manually programmed engine control units and will have a newly adapted software version.

“The Supercup is also a beacon for us when it comes to eFuels. Motorsport has always been a driver of innovation – now also in terms of fuel. Through this project, we are taking further steps towards achieving our decarbonization goals,” Porsche Research and Development Board Member Michael Steiner said.

“If you look at the entire value chain, the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup racing cars can race with eFuels in a potentially almost CO2 (carbon dioxide)-neutral way. Here, the new fuel is used under the toughest conditions. To slow global warming, it is essential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions — this also applies to motorsport,” he added.

In the past three years, Porsche has used a second-generation bio-based, partially synthetic fuel mixture for its one-make race series. Now, the Stuttgart-headquartered carmaker takes the next step with this flagship project.

The eFuel to be used by the competing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars is produced using renewable energy and does not rely on fossil resources. Initially formed as eMethanol, it is then converted into synthetic raw gasoline.

The Haru Oni project, located in Patagonia, obtains the energy for this process using wind power. At this location, wind is plentiful and inexpensive. The carbon dioxide currently comes from a biogenic source.

In the future, it will be extracted directly from the atmosphere in an environmentally friendly manner using an innovative direct air capture process (DAC).

“In our view, DAC is an important new technology for the future – particularly for energy extraction,” Porsche Procurement Executive Board Member Barbara Frenkel stated.

“Pure CO2 can be used for industrial processes or permanently stored in the ground. The eFuels produced in this way can help achieve our goals to decarbonize motorsport. We will continue to support our partner HIF in increasing the quantities of eFuels available,” she added.

Photos from Porsche

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