A pilot plant is being built north of Punta Arenas in Chile’s Patagonia. It is expected to make ~130,000 liters of eFuels in 2022. It will then be expanded in two stages to ~55 million liters by 2024, and ~550 million liters by 2026.
Porsche is taking a $75 million piece of HIF Global LLC or ~12.5% of the holding company HIF Global, which is internationally active as project developers of eFuel* production facilities. Porsche is investing in the development of eFuel operations in Chile, USA and Australia. Electricity-based synthetic fuels – eFuels – let combustion engines operate – potentially – in an almost CO₂-neutral manner, depending on how they are produced, and if you do a life-cycle analysis.
The sports car and SUV manufacturer initially plans to use the eFuel from Chile in motorsport projects. In the future, it is also conceivable that they will be used to fuel the company’s own vehicles with combustion engines during initial fueling at the factory, and at Porsche Experience Centers.
Porsche has been researching the use of renewable fuels. Tests in the laboratory and on the race track are proceeding: “We see ourselves as pioneers in eFuels and want to drive (sic) the technology. This is one building block in our clear, overall sustainability strategy,” claimed Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG.
Porsche** here is participating in an international financing round alongside the Chilean company Andes Mining & Energy (AME) and the American companies EIG, Baker Hughes Company and Gemstone Investments. In total, an amount in the “low nine-figures” ($1-3M???) range is flowing into HIF Global. AME remains the majority shareholder of HIF Global. The additional capital it’s said will be used to develop industrial eFuel facilities in countries that have large supplies of renewable energy. This is an energy-intensive process. Liquid eFuels are for use by the automotive, aviation and shipping industries.
Among other projects, the Santiago de Chile-based company is building the Haru Oni eFuel pilot plant in Punta Arenas (Chile). Initiated by Porsche and implemented with partners including Siemens Energy and Exxon Mobil, production of eFuels from hydrogen and CO₂ using wind energy is expected to start there in mid-2022.
“Porsche is investing in an attractive business area with its stake in HIF Global LLC. Synthetic fuels offer attractive prospects across transportation sectors, from the automotive industry to the aviation and shipping sectors. In addition, e-methanol is an important raw material for other applications, such as in the chemical industry, where it can replace raw materials of fossil origin. E-methanol is an intermediate product that is produced during the generation of eFuel,” explains Michael Steiner.
* eFuels: electricity is converted into a synthetic liquid. Other synthesis steps are also available to produce synthetic methane, methanol or ammonia.
** Porsche’s transaction for a stake in HIF Global is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Porsche Buys into eFuels via HIF Global
A pilot plant is being built north of Punta Arenas in Chile’s Patagonia. It is expected to make ~130,000 liters of eFuels in 2022. It will then be expanded in two stages to ~55 million liters by 2024, and ~550 million liters by 2026.
Porsche is taking a $75 million piece of HIF Global LLC or ~12.5% of the holding company HIF Global, which is internationally active as project developers of eFuel* production facilities. Porsche is investing in the development of eFuel operations in Chile, USA and Australia. Electricity-based synthetic fuels – eFuels – let combustion engines operate – potentially – in an almost CO₂-neutral manner, depending on how they are produced, and if you do a life-cycle analysis.
The sports car and SUV manufacturer initially plans to use the eFuel from Chile in motorsport projects. In the future, it is also conceivable that they will be used to fuel the company’s own vehicles with combustion engines during initial fueling at the factory, and at Porsche Experience Centers.
Porsche has been researching the use of renewable fuels. Tests in the laboratory and on the race track are proceeding: “We see ourselves as pioneers in eFuels and want to drive (sic) the technology. This is one building block in our clear, overall sustainability strategy,” claimed Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG.
Porsche** here is participating in an international financing round alongside the Chilean company Andes Mining & Energy (AME) and the American companies EIG, Baker Hughes Company and Gemstone Investments. In total, an amount in the “low nine-figures” ($1-3M???) range is flowing into HIF Global. AME remains the majority shareholder of HIF Global. The additional capital it’s said will be used to develop industrial eFuel facilities in countries that have large supplies of renewable energy. This is an energy-intensive process. Liquid eFuels are for use by the automotive, aviation and shipping industries.
Among other projects, the Santiago de Chile-based company is building the Haru Oni eFuel pilot plant in Punta Arenas (Chile). Initiated by Porsche and implemented with partners including Siemens Energy and Exxon Mobil, production of eFuels from hydrogen and CO₂ using wind energy is expected to start there in mid-2022.
“Porsche is investing in an attractive business area with its stake in HIF Global LLC. Synthetic fuels offer attractive prospects across transportation sectors, from the automotive industry to the aviation and shipping sectors. In addition, e-methanol is an important raw material for other applications, such as in the chemical industry, where it can replace raw materials of fossil origin. E-methanol is an intermediate product that is produced during the generation of eFuel,” explains Michael Steiner.
* eFuels: electricity is converted into a synthetic liquid. Other synthesis steps are also available to produce synthetic methane, methanol or ammonia.
** Porsche’s transaction for a stake in HIF Global is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.