The Future Is Synthetic — But Don’t Panic Just Yet

There’s a storm coming. Not the usual British one where a leaf lands on a train line and everyone goes to DEFCON 1. No, I mean the kind of storm that’s going to wipe out the soundtrack of your V12, outlaw your pops and bangs, and turn every car into a beige box powered by the same stuff that charges your toothbrush. Electricity.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like electricity. It makes my telly work. But the idea of replacing a 9,000rpm Ferrari scream with something that sounds like a startled hairdryer? That’s the stuff of nightmares. For years now, we’ve been told the internal combustion engine is going the way of Blockbuster Video. But what if it doesn’t have to?

Enter… synthetic fuel. Or, as it’s sometimes called, eFuel. Sounds futuristic, right? Like something Doc Brown would fill the DeLorean with. But behind the sci-fi name is something very real, very clever, and potentially, very expensive.

Let’s get stuck in.

Why we need synthetic fuels

Imagine this. You’ve just bought a brand-new 12 Cilindri. You’ve specced it in Grigio Alloy, chosen the optional carbon bucket seats (which will permanently reshape your spine), and you’ve proudly picked it up from the showroom, still drunk on the smell of glue and leather.

Then the government turns up, smiles, and says: “Thanks very much. Lovely car. Can’t drive it. Too dirty. Have a Renault Zoe instead”.

This is where synthetic fuel comes in. You see, the problem isn’t really the engine. Internal combustion, when fed properly, isn’t inherently evil. The issue is the fuel. Petrol is basically dinosaur juice dug out of the ground, refined into something explosive, and then set on fire. Over and over again. Which is a) brilliant and b) not ideal for polar bears.

Synthetic fuel, on the other hand, promises to keep all the fun and none of the guilt. It’s made from captured carbon and hydrogen, meaning, in theory, it can be carbon neutral. You can run your Carrera GT without feeling like you’ve personally punched Greta Thunberg in the face.

How synthetic fuels are made (without a science degree)

Right. Science hats on. But don’t worry, this won’t feel like a school lecture given by a man in sandals with a ponytail.

Here’s the basic process:

1. Capture CO2 — You suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Literally. They’ve got machines that do this. Big vacuum cleaners. It’s like hoovering the sky.

2. Extract Hydrogen — You then split water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. That needs electricity, ideally from wind, sun or something else that doesn’t involve setting coal on fire.

3. Combine — You then mush the carbon and hydrogen together using a process called the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Sounds German. Because it is. That process creates a liquid hydrocarbon that behaves just like petrol or diesel.

In short, you’re making fuel, not mining it. And the carbon you emit when you burn it is the same carbon you pulled from the air in the first place. Net zero. Unless, of course, you spill it all over your driveway, light a cigar, and accidentally recreate the opening scene of a Die Hard film.

The good bits

Let’s start with the obvious win — you keep your car. Your V8, V10, or V12 stays alive. You don’t need to replace your collection with a fleet of silent Teslas. Supercars survive. Hurrah.

You use existing infrastructure. Petrol stations don’t need to become charging points. No need for new pipes, pumps or plugs. Just use the same nozzle.

You get to smugly tell your vegan friends it’s ‘carbon neutral’. Technically.

They’re better for classic cars. eFuel can be made to behave like 98 RON, 102 RON, or whatever your 1960s Ferrari demands. It won’t eat carburettors or dissolve rubber like some modern fuels do.

They don’t need batteries. Which means no lithium, no cobalt mines, and no child labour horror stories. Just clean chemistry.

Cold starts? No problem. Unlike electric cars in winter, which go from ‘range anxiety’ to ‘just plain anxiety’.

The not-so-good bits — you knew this was coming

It’s expensive. Right now, eFuel costs roughly £8 to £10 per litre. That’s not a typo. You’d need a mortgage just to do the school run in a Range Rover.

It’s energy hungry. Making it takes a lot of electricity. Clean electricity. And guess what we don’t have an endless supply of? Yep.

Scaling it is hard. Making enough for a small test fleet is one thing. Supplying the UK’s daily needs is another. It’s like trying to feed Glastonbury with a sandwich toaster.

It doesn’t fix all pollution. Synthetic fuels may be carbon neutral, but your car still emits particulates, NOx, and enough heat to fry bacon on the bonnet.

Porsche: saving the internal combustion engine one flat six at a time

Now let’s talk about the hero of this story. Porsche.

While other carmakers are busy deleting their V8s and fitting iPads where the gear lever should be, Porsche has decided to fight. Their weapons? A wind turbine in Patagonia, a lot of German brains, and the stubborn refusal to let go of the 911.

In 2022, Porsche partnered with a company called HIF Global to build a synthetic fuel plant in Punta Arenas, Chile — a place so windy it makes Scarborough look like the Costa del Sol. That wind powers electrolysis machines which split water into hydrogen. The CO2 is captured from the air, and the two are combined to make eFuel. The plant is already up and running. Not theoretical. Not a cartoon. Real, working fuel being made and burned as we speak.

They’ve already started using it in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup cars. And the idea is this: if it works for motorsport, where engines are tortured harder than a Top Gear producer in Argentina, it’ll work in the real world.

Porsche claims that by 2030, eFuel could power almost all of its legacy cars — and that’s 70% of every Porsche ever made. So that 964 RS you panic-bought in 2021? Relax. It’s safe.

So when can I fill up my F40 with synthetic fuel?

Here’s the tricky bit. Right now, the quantities being made are small. Tiny. Like, you-couldn’t-fill-an-Abarth levels of small.

But the plan is to ramp up. More plants are coming — in Chile, the USA, and even Australia. Porsche says it will produce 55 million litres by 2027. Which sounds like a lot. Until you remember that the UK alone burns around 45 billion litres of fuel a year.

So when will it be at your local Shell?

• Realistically? Not before 2030
• For general sale? Probably 2035 onwards
• At a price that doesn’t make your wallet scream? Maybe 2040

In the meantime, you might find it at race circuits, Porsche dealers, or being poured by people who own things like yachts and say “superlative” in conversation.

What will it cost?

Brace yourself.

Filling up a 70-litre tank would cost about £700. That’s a family holiday to Tenerife, poured into your GT2 RS and set on fire in the Peak District.

But — and it’s a big but — prices should fall. Porsche reckons it can get the price down to around £1.50 to £2 per litre by the mid-2030s. Still more than petrol today, but less than what you’d pay for a thimble of coffee in Knightsbridge.

For now, think of it like foie gras or a bottle of Pétrus. It exists. It’s exquisite. But it’s not going in your lunchbox anytime soon.

What does the future look like for us lot?

Here’s the reality.

Governments across Europe are pushing for full electric. New petrol car sales are being banned. EVs are marching into every corner of the motoring world. And if you listen to the man from Volvo long enough, you’ll start thinking internal combustion is worse than tax evasion.

But synthetic fuel might — just might — save the cars we love. The screaming flat-sixes. The naturally aspirated V12s. The glorious, thunderous symphony of petrol-powered madness. We may not be able to drive them to work. But we might still be able to drive them.

So here’s a question. One you won’t like. Should we, as supercar drivers, be daily driving electric cars to preserve the remaining fossil fuels in the world, so that we can keep using our proper cars for the fun stuff?

It’s like skipping dessert all week, so you can have the world’s best steak on Sunday.

Tempting, isn’t it?

Written by: Paul Pearce