Going against the promise to end dependence on oil, experts say that synthetic gasoline pollutes as much as regular gasoline

Several entities in the automotive sector have already stated that synthetic gasoline is cleaner compared to petroleum derivatives. However, recently expert studies have found that synthetic fuel pollutes just like regular gasoline.

Presented as another solution to electric vehicles, synthetic fuels may not be as sustainable as advertised. This is the conclusion of some tests carried out by the European publication Transport & Environment (T&E). According to the analysis, new emission tests showed that vehicles running on synthetic gasoline emit basically the same amount of NOx as models using petroleum-derived fuels. In short, synthetic gasoline is similar to regular gasoline and diesel in chemical terms and has been touted by the automotive and fossil fuel supplier industry as a way to prolong the use of combustion cars in the midst of the energy transition.

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Use of synthetic gasoline will not have major effects on reducing pollutants

However, transforming clean energy into fuels that do not use petroleum is a process in which there is a lot of efficiency loss, in addition the production cost is very high and, now, it has been discovered that despite the whole process, synthetic gasoline is not as clean as it looks.

The conclusion of the T&E is that the use of petroleum-free gasoline in vehicles will not significantly reduce the gases that cause air quality problems in cities. The emissions of a car using petroleum-derived gasoline and three different blends of synthetic gasoline were compared in laboratory tests.

Practically, a model that runs on synthetic emits high levels of toxic NOx in the same proportion as cars with regular gasoline engines. Furthermore, if European Union standard E10 gasoline is taken into account, synthetic releases 3 times more ammonia and carbon monoxide, according to research organization IFP Energies Nouvelles.

Synthetic gasoline production is less energy efficient than electric cars

According to the analysis, the automotive sector's proposals to open space and insert synthetic fuels in the CO2 emissions targets of cars sold in Europe will cause final costs for drivers to increase.

Therefore, driving a model that does not use common gasoline, but synthetic, will cost 10 thousand euros more than a similar electric car in a period of five years.

Finally, the manufacture of fuels that do not use petroleum has a much lower efficiency than the energy of electric cars. Reaching a threshold of 10% selling new cars on synthetic gasoline instead of electrifying them will require 23% more electricity from clean sources, according to an independent study by T&E.

Electric cars are the best option for sustainability

Petroleum-free fuels lost the race to sustainable mobility, but they never came close. Battery electric vehicles offer drivers the cleanest, most affordable and most efficient solution to decarbonize, while synthetic ones are more suitable for airplanes, where electrification is not yet an option.

While brands like Mercedes-Benz have already announced that this type of fuel is not part of their plans to reduce emissions, automakers like Porsche, even though they are betting on electric vehicles, have invested in the production of synthetic ones.

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