Saudi Aramco and Stellantis prove large-scale compatibility of eFuels

Up to 28 million European vehicles on the road today, from 24 different engine families sold since 2014, are totally compatible with eFuels. That is the conclusion of a series of tests run by automaker Stellantis in collaboration with Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil and gas production company.

Using surrogate eFuels provided by Aramco, the tests concluded that the vehicles in question are ready to use eFuel without powertrain modification.

eFuels are a low-carbon, synthetic alternative to conventional fuels. They are produced by reacting CO2 with renewable hydrogen. According to some experts, the use of eFuels has the potential to lower CO2 emissions from existing internal combustion vehicles by at least 70% on a total lifecycle basis.  

“Our priority is zero-emission mobility with a focus on electrification,” says Ned Curic, Chief Engineering and Technology Officer at Aramco. “Our collaboration with Aramco is an important and complementary step in this journey. Drop-in eFuels can have a massive and almost immediate impact on reducing the emissions of an existing fleet.”

Said Amer Amer, Aramco’s Transport Chief Technologist: “The results of the testing reinforce our view that synthetic fuel can be a drop-in solution in existing vehicles, and when produced via a low-carbon pathway it can play an important role in reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector and supporting an orderly energy transition.”

In March of this year, the European Union relaxed its ban on the sale of internal-combustion vehicles after 2035, allowing the sale of such vehicles if they are powered by eFuels. 

The move was seen as a concession to the European (and especially German) car industry, which is struggling to reshape its production and distribution models to electric vehicles only after 2035. 

Aramco is currently working on two demonstration plants to explore production of low-carbon synthetic fuels. In Saudi Arabia, Aramco and Neom Energy and Water Company are working to demonstrate the production of synthetic gasoline for light-duty passenger vehicles.

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