Regenerative synthetic fuels can be used not only in cars, lorries, aircraft and ships, but also in motorsport: In June, the synthetic petrol fuel produced in the DeCarTrans research project was tested for the second time in a 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Two vehicles from the Griesemann and Bonk Motorsport teams were on the racetrack with the "Racing e-fuel 98" petrol blend and took second and third place in the "Alternative Technologies" class. The results of the tests in real applications - such as here at the Nürburgring - help the research team to take process and optimisation steps for the upcoming fuel production campaigns.
Professor Gräbner, what are the advantages of motorsport tests for the research project?
Testing in motorsport means testing fuel in the high-performance range. In races, the engines are driven at high power/high revs for long periods of time, which puts them under particular strain. This is where synthetic fuel, which has lower particle formation during engine combustion than conventional fuels, can show its advantages. Furthermore, racing engines are often dismantled after events and inspected for damage/traces of wear. In comparison, this allows conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the fuel used.
Where else is the synthetic fuel being tested?
In addition to testing by car manufacturers and suppliers (OEMs), who have examined the fuel on engine test benches and in material and component tests, its use in cars and motorbikes is particularly noteworthy, both in corporate use and for end customers. At our refuelling event at this year's Night of Science and Business in Freiberg, for example, we raffled off ten refuellings among the participants in our fuel quiz. The wide range of different applications is important for us on the one hand in terms of scientific findings, i.e. the collection of operating experience and test results from a wide variety of fuel users who use the fuel in different blends (from Super 95 E10 to special blends with octane numbers above 100). On the other hand, this also increases visibility in the public eye and thus demonstrates the advantages of renewable fuels to an even wider audience.
What makes the fuel produced by DeCarTrans special?
This raw material is demonstrably bio-derived, which can be determined by radiocarbon analysis (14C determination), for example. This means that our fuel is also demonstrably "green", as is the final blend as Super 95 E10, in which the starting fuel is blended with 10% bioethanol. Our large-scale test facility in Freiberg has now made it possible for the first time to provide larger quantities of this regenerative petrol for use in small fleets and by end customers. With a daily output of around 1400 litres, our plant is currently by far the most efficient in Europe.
In addition, the engine combustion properties are improved compared to conventional fuels, such as the significantly lower particulate emissions mentioned above.
About the research project
In the joint research project DeCarTrans, which brings together project partners from research, automotive and plant engineering as well as the mineral oil industry, the research team at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, together with its long-standing cooperation partner CAC Engineering GmbH, will produce several hundred cubic metres of synthetic petrol by 2026. This will be produced from bio-methanol at the large-scale research facility in Freiberg, Saxony. In May 2023, the first 15,000 litres of the green petrol produced in the project were made available to the project partners; a further 125,000 litres could be delivered from the two subsequent production campaigns by the end of June 2024. With production over the planned three-year period, the project aims to prove the long-term viability of the technology and demonstrate that renewable synthetic fuels can make a significant contribution to achieving climate targets. The joint project "Demonstrating a Circular Carbon Economy in Transport along the Value Chain" - DeCarTrans for short - is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) with 14.93 million euros (funding reference: 16RK14004).