Posted Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 9:36pm
On Tuesday, May 28, Toyota, Subaru, and Mazda announced a lineup of innovative new combustion engines that can be used either in a stand-alone or hybrid form in conjunction with a battery.
The new engines will be combustion engines but also compatible with alternative fuels such as e-fuel (synthetic fuel), biofuels, and liquid hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen, provided the hydrogen is made from electrolysis, emits zero carbon dioxide (CO2). And while both e-fuel and biofuels do emit some carbon dioxide, they’re considered “carbon neutral.” This is because e-fuels are made from captured CO2 from the atmosphere, which is then combined with hydrogen to produce synthetic fuel. Meanwhile, the justification for biofuels is that the plant biomass grown to make biofuels takes CO2 out of the atmosphere during photosynthesis. That may be a bit of a stretch, as all plants use photosynthesis, so at least for biofuels, there would have to be enough new plants put in the ground to offset the biofuel combustion.
Still, a future hybrid vehicle that combines a battery with one of these no-carbon or “carbon-neutral” fuels could be a killer for mainstream EV adoption.
