The Big Problem With Synthetic Fuels

Can synthetic fuels save combustion engines for the future? eFuel explained.

As the automotive industry seeks out cleaner transportation, synthetic fuels (carbon neutral efuels) show a promising environmental benefit. Could synthetic fuels replace the need for electric cars and keep the combustion engine alive for future generations? This video will analyze carbon neutral synthetic fuels, discuss energy storage and the challenges of renewable energy, explain the process of how various (electric, hydrogen, combustion) energy sources power vehicles, and ultimately calculate the efficiency and costs associated with synthetic fuels vs conventional gasoline or electric cars. While eFuels do seem promising for certain sectors, some drawbacks will likely prevent mass adoption within the passenger car market.

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[EngineeringExplained]

**Addressing Frequent Comments!**
1). *“I’m already paying $2/L.”* Porsche is at $10/L, and hoping to get it down to $2/L. That’s cost. Add in your local tax, and that number goes up. A big part of why fuel is more expensive in Europe vs the US is that it is taxed significantly higher in Europe. Additional edit: EV owners pay road taxes as well - it's incorporated into higher registration fees (you're not tax exempt simply because your transportation could be carbon neutral).
2). *“I’m an EV shill.”* Haha okay. I still love my supercharged Miata, and despite how slow it is, my Crosstrek as well. It’s possible to like both combustion cars and EVs, and also acknowledge the shortcomings of each. I like burnouts. I fly frequently for work. The Jaguar F-Type SVR’s exhaust is a sound worth hearing. I’m not good for the planet. None of this changes the information presented in this video.
3). Not one compliment on those tree drawings?! C'mon. Those are some nice trees.

[olik]

I wasn't thinking that synthetic fuel will replace electric cars- I was hoping that it will be an affordable fuel for classic cars in the future when normal everyday transportation is based on electric engines and batteries.

[Newtoschool]

I literally just wrote a 15 page paper on this 😂 you couldn't have made this video 3 weeks sooner

[private]

Porsche is gonna make that synthetic fuel.

[jb]

Fifteen straight minutes of whiteboard: today was a good day!

[BlackPanthaa]

You had me until the end, at $2 a litre that would be literally better than a lot of fuel prices in the UK and these are diesel numbers. I imagine similar in Europe. $2 = £1.42 and current UK average per litre for petrol is £1.29 diesel £1.31. £1.70 being highest as of current costs which is no higher than average right now.

But in general the argument in the UK is that most people live in 'town houses' with no owned parking or driveway, it's illegal to run a cable across a footpath. Others in apartments which will inflate flat prices so much to install electric chargers which it's already a good £300k for a London flat with no parking as is. Synthetic fuel is likely to have a place here.

[EmmaCross]

YOU HAVE SHATTERED MY DREAMS BUT YOU WILL NOT WEAKEN MY RESOLVE

[SierraKilo]

e-fuels are just being invented. So most likely we will see a reduction in price. On the other hand, the infrastructure for those fuels is up and running. Calculate the expenses for hydro and the gap will be different.
And efuels (even in a mix with traditional fuels) could help make the transition smoother for those who are not able to buy a new car right now – or live somewhere where they need better infrastructure for charging (public charging stations and/ or cables to their neighborhood / house to charge there).

[HumbleMechanic]

EE videos are the only reason I know what day it is. Never change bro! <3

[TomFewchuk]

I don't get how you can talk so fluently and coherently for 15mins straight without taking a breath! Excellent rundown

[Wizardman]

Looking at the title, I’m thinking this is a response to that Donut Media from a little while ago lol

[manycarsjeff]

Despite the energy efficiency disadvantage of synthetic fuels, the global distribution network for liquid fuel is already in place. The infrastructure needed to match current ICE vehicle use with electric or hydrogen power blows the efficiency equation out of the water from a practical standpoint. It would take decades and trillions of dollars to get even close.

[davidebattisti]

Nobody is talking about e-fuel being introduced in F1 next year, it could make things better for e-fuel because in F1 technologies are developed faster than anywhere else.

[aristotelisentertainment]

Synthetic fuels won't replace electric cars but they can save expensive performance ice cars and racecars.

[innerpeacesoundscape]

"Hey bro, what fuel you runnin'?" "C whatever H whatever."

[nakre]

The reason i like the idea of syntetic fuels, is that you can use, most of the same infrastructure. And when i comes to costs and not building more on behalf of nature itself. I vote for this!.

[nithishjvj]

It's better if Synthetic, Fossil, Hydrogen, PHEV, HEV, and EVs perform side by side rather than one replacing another

[BiggMo]

13:25 “the cost is absolutely insane” I use to say that about LED light bulbs, they were $30-$40 each when they entered the market, but through volume, evolution in the technology and manufacturing efficiency you can now buy the same bulb for $1.65. Is it conceivable that fuel costs will find a similar path in the market?

I also remember computer memory chips in the 90’s was $50 per megabyte.

[rkan]

14:00: Ah, the 10$/gallon gasoline. Me as an European: I already pay almost 9$/gallon for gas - that's not that bad. (let's just omit the fact that most of the cost is taxes :P )

[paperclipbike]

Not sure if it's been mentioned in the comments already, but the synth-fuel ICE scenario still results in NOx and (I guess) particulates emissions that require scrubbing and filtering if we're to keep to the clean air targets, too.