Efuels are a controversial use of hydrogen, with critics arguing they prolong the use of internal combustion engine cars and may be carbon-neutral only on paper. But they could also represent a route to using renewable resources, such as wind in Chile, that would otherwise not be used within such countries due to relatively low energy demand, argues Thorsten Herdan, CEO Emea of developer HIF.

HIF operates the Haru Oni efuels plant in the Magallanes region of Chile, which it says is the first of its type. The project uses wind power to generate green hydrogen, which it combines with biogenic CO₂ to produce efuels including carbon-neutral gasoline and carbon-neutral liquefied gas.

“We have to bottle that wind, with two possibilities: make hydrogen and ammonia, or put in CO₂ and have renewable hydrocarbons” Herdan, HIF

“We have to bottle that wind, with two possibilities: make hydrogen and ammonia, or put in CO₂ and have renewable hydrocarbons,” he says. Herdan adds that, while there will be a market for ammonia, “we had already an offtaker for renewable hydrocarbons [in Porsche] and no offtaker for the ammonia route”.

“Our goal is to be as fast on the market as possible,” he says.

HIF is monitoring EU legislation—not lobbying—but trying to get all the requirements visible in order to ensure projects need renewable fuels standards in Europe, Herdan says.

Herdan cites three main drivers for gasoline buyers to switch to efuels: Europe’s renewable fuel transport obligation, hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation and shipping seeking to decarbonise, and fear of not locking in supply. “More and more companies find themselves in a position where, if they do not look now for supply, they fear they will not have it when they need it, either when customers demand it or when legislators need it,” he says.

Herdan declines to comment on the relative cost of gasoline produced at the Haru Oni facility compared with conventional methods, arguing the project’s basis was to demonstrate that such production methods were possible. “In a short period of time, without Feed—the normal way of doing a plant—we went straight from the conceptual phase to building it,” he says, noting there were mistakes made that “we can avoid when we scale up”.

Herdan admits that while Haru Oni “started on the direct air capture [DAC] side, we found it was not possible for various reasons, so we switched from DAC to biogenic CO₂ from a brewery”. However, he is confident other DAC technologies could be installed at Haru Oni in future.

“We see ourselves as a pioneer in really getting DAC into reality,” Herdan says. He notes that, while industry is able to set up a closed loop of CO₂ emissions via pipelines, “you cannot do that in transport, in aviation or shipping, you cannot capture CO₂ from a single machine”, leaving DAC “the only potential pathway to close the loop for transport emissions”.

While other companies, such as cement and agriculture, which may have no route to fully eliminate all CO₂ emissions, are investing in DAC, “we are getting it to market faster than anybody else”, says Herdan.

E-methanol

HIF is developing a 1.4mn t/yr e-methanol plant in Texas, with EPC to be finalised and FID to be taken in the first quarter of next year. The first phase will produce 1.4mn t/yr of methanol.

“Our task and challenge now is finding someone who can provide offtake for phase one—perhaps by securing quantities from phase two,” says Herdan. While the fully commissioned project is expected to produce synthetic methanol at a price “not very much above grey”—with further incentives from avoided CO₂—a long-term offtake contract may not benefit from this eventual fall in price without these options for volumes from future phases.

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Author: Polly Martin