The joint Neste E-Fuel research project demonstrating high temperature electrolysis (SOEC), carbon capture, and hydrocarbon synthesis technologies has come to its successful end.
The E-fuel research project that has been funded by Business Finland and consortium partners and coordinated by VTT is part of the Neste Veturi ecosystem. The project consortium of 15 partners covered all parties in the value chain from CO2 capture to green hydrogen and fuel production, logistics, as well as users of the transportation fuels in aviation and road and marine transport.
Neste Veturi R&D program develops sustainable fuels and chemicals from renewable and recycled raw materials that have been difficult to utilize so far. The raw materials and their related conversion technologies in focus are lignocellulosic residues, micro algae, novel vegetable oils, plastic waste, municipal solid waste, renewable hydrogen and CO2. The programme is co-funded by Business Finland.
The project successfully generated hundreds of kilograms of synthetic hydrocarbons intended for the production of novel sustainable transportation fuel. The hydrocarbons were refined by Neste mainly into carbon neutral synthetic e-diesel, which was tested on a diesel-powered tractor in late 2023.
During the project, technologies of the consortium companies were developed further, and the produced diesel burned more cleanly than fossil and renewable diesels in the current market. E-fuels can be considered carbon-neutral, as they are produced using captured CO2 emissions and renewable hydrogen, effectively offsetting the carbon dioxide released during combustion in an engine.
The research and development of Power-to-X technologies is one of our key focus areas. E-fuels offer a way to expand the carbon-neutral transport fuel pool beyond biomass-based renewable fuels to replace fossil fuels.
… said Dietmar Huber, Vice President of Innovation Business Platform Power-to-X at Neste.
To remind, the E-Fuels in the Shipping Industry survey, conducted by market researcher mo’web and commissioned by Accelleron, identified huge potential and some of the key challenges that ship owners and operators face as they deploy alternative fuels to meet industry targets of climate neutrality by 2050.
We were able to demonstrate the high quality of the produced paraffinic e-fuel with low emissions in the field test. We also gathered and developed valuable information on the profitability and sustainability of e-fuels production
… added VTT Research Professor Juha Lehtonen, responsible leader of the project.
