Cars / F1

Formula 1 is Developing its Own Sustainable Fuel

Premiere racing competition Formula 1 is creating its own sustainable fuel, hoping to release it for mainstream use in the future.

Oct 07, 2021 | By Sarah Ridzwan
formula 1
Image: Formula 1

Formula 1 announced on Wednesday (October 6) that it’s developing its own 100 per cent sustainable fuel. It hopes the fuel will save the internal combustion engines by making F1 cars run on zero carbon emissions.

F1 had already planned to switch to E10 fuel next season but hopes to be doing better by 2025. By then, new regulations will be in effect and its race cars will be fitted with a new generation of engines that will run on sustainable fuel as stated in a press release.

F1 is currently in talks with companies about supplying fuel for the competition and may potentially scale up production for public use.

While electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, F1 believes that less than 10 per cent of cars on the road will be fully electric by 2030. The fuel is still in development and F1 hopes to match the energy density to traditional gasoline and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 65 per cent.

formula 1
Image: Formula 1

“It’s a totally circular thing,” F1 CTO Pat Symonds said in a statement. “We’re not producing any CO2 that is not already in the atmosphere at the moment; we’re taking it out of the atmosphere, we’re using it, and we’re putting it back in the atmosphere.”

Porsche could potentially supply fuel to the premiere racing competition, according to Car and Driver. The company announced earlier this year it was working on its own synthetic fuel called eFuel. Its Motorsport VP, Fritz Enzinger, told BBC Sport that the company was interested in joining F1 if the competition would commit to more sustainable practices.

Other sustainable car news this week: Rolls-Royce is rolling out its own fully electric vehicle called the Spectre, an ode to its founding father who wanted to create the best motorcar in the world. The company is expecting to go fully electric by 2030. The Spectre is set to be available by late 2024.

US-based company Rivian is rivalling Tesla in the electric vehicle world, focusing on electric trucks and SUVs expecting to go public later this year. The vehicles are more suited for consumers with an outdoorsy, rugged lifestyle.

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