Audi takes a new step in the production of CO2 neutral synthetic fuels. With the opening of a pilot plant in Germany, in Dresden-Reick, the ring brand will produce 160 liters of “Blue Crude” per day using water, CO2 and green electricity.
The pilot plant was inaugurated last Friday and is now preparing to produce “Blue Crude”, with 50% of the material produced that can be transformed into synthetic diesel. “Blue Crude”, free of sulfur and aromatics, is rich in cetane, which means it is highly flammable.
The chemical properties of this fuel allow its mixture with fossil diesel, which allows its use as a drop-in fuel. Audi's foray into e-fuels began in 2009 with e-gas: the Audi A3 g-tron can be fueled with synthetic methane, produced in Lower Saxony, in Werlte, at Audi's e-gas plant.
SEE ALSO: This is the new VW Golf R Variant and has 300 hp
Two technologies, two partnerships
In partnership with Climaworks and Sunfire, Audi and its partners intend to prove that the industrialization of e-fuels is possible. The project, co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research, was preceded by two and a half years of research and development.
CO2 is extracted from the ambient air, followed by the “power-to-liquid” process, which is introduced into the process through Sunfire. But how is it produced?