Some car manufacturers do not decide when it comes to making a firm bet by plug-in electric car as the definitive solution to polluting and greenhouse emissions. Although this seems to be the main path taken by Europe, hydrogen and “bio” and synthetic fuels in addition to hydrogen are the focus of the investigations of the scientists and engineers of the main automobile companies.
The secret lies in synthetic or carbon neutral fuels, whose manufacturing process captures CO2. In this way, this greenhouse gas is converted into raw material, from which gasoline, diesel and a substitute for natural gas can be produced with the help of electricity from renewable energy sources.
Japanese brands stand out in the search for alternative plans to plug and battery. This is how he explains it Norihiko Tsukagoshi, Innovative Research Excellence team, Honda Power & Energy Unit: “We are researching technologies to achieve carbon neutrality through the correct use of CO2.” The objective is to find ways to convert, eliminate or reuse the absorbed CO2, and Honda seems to have found the solution to the problem in algae.
“Algae grow by absorbing CO2; can be converted into biofuels. It is time to leave behind the dependence on fossil fuels. Global warming has been alerting us for some time”, explains the researcher.
Algae have a special capacity for absorbing large amounts of CO2. Specifically, each gram of algae absorbs two grams of CO2. That is, the more algae, the greater this absorption will be. As explained Nozomi Fukushima, from the same Excellence team as Tsukagoshi, “there are many ways to use algae. Biofuel and bioplastic resins are quite useful for automotive purposes. They can also serve as nutritional supplements, health and beauty supplements, and pharmaceuticals.”
Dreamo is the type of seaweed that is being cultivated from the Honda Excellence team. “Whether it’s cold or hot, rainy, sunny or snowy, we work so that DREAMO absorbs as much CO2 as possible, even turning it into food,” they explain. All this is not only a breakthrough in terms of sustainable mobility, but also “as a driver of economic development by creating new jobs in developing countries.”
dreamo is an extremely resistant algaeand from Honda they have developed their cultivation to offer greater reuse efficiency, and it can regenerate many times by adding a little water and nutrients.
Apart from the Honda studies, Bosch experts have estimated the contribution that biofuels and synthetic fuels could make to the European car fleet. So, by 2050, the use of synthetic fuels used as a complement to electrification could save up to 2.8 gigatonnes of CO2 or, what is the same, 2,800,000,000,000 kg. This is equivalent to three times the carbon dioxide emissions that Germany produced in 2016.
Bosch experts have even estimated the contribution that it could make, just the european car fleet. Thus, by 2050, the use of synthetic fuels used as a complement to electrification could save up to 2.8 gigatonnes of CO2 or, what is the same, 2,800,000,000,000 kilos. This is equivalent to three times the carbon dioxide emissions that Germany produced in 2016.
