F1 wants the next generation of power unit to be powered by 100% sustainable 'drop-in fuel' in order to achieve its goal of being net zero carbon by 2030.

The press release issued by FOM today reads as follows:

Formula 1 is aiming to field a generation of new power unit by 2025 - and the championship wants that engine to be powered by 100% sustainable 'drop-in fuel' designed to help Formula 1 achieve its goal of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

2022 will already see Formula 1 move to E10 fuel, a mixture of 90% fossil fuel and 10% ethanol. But with the launch of the new generation of Formula 1 engines, the aim is to help develop a 100% sustainable fuel - with Formula 1 actively engaged in discussions with fuel companies about creating the fuel in the quantities needed for the championship, as well as then scaling up production for wider social use.

This 100% sustainable 'drop-in fuel' - meaning it can be used in a standard internal combustion engine without any modification to the engine itself - will be laboratory-created, using components that come from either a carbon capture scheme, municipal waste or non-food biomass, while achieving greenhouse gas emissions savings relative to fossil-derived petrol of at least 65%.

Crucially, the new fuel will also pack a punch worthy of the pinnacle of motorsport, matching the energy density of Formula 1's current fossil fuel petrols - meaning the cars will be every bit as fast as they are today.

It's estimated that there will be 1.8 billion cars on the road by 2030, with only 8% of those pure Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) - while internal combustion engines will continue to be essential to air and sea travel, as well as to the haulage industry.

By spearheading the development of 100% advanced sustainable drop-in fuels, Formula 1 can play its part in making an enormous impact on the global transport sectors' greenhouse gas emissions.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 08/10/2021 12:02

"I favour hydrogen above all else for just so many reasons and to back up my faith I have invested in an exciting new hydrogen venture that is currently upscaling their new platform by using iron ore as a catalyst for splitting methane into two elements...hydrogen and graphene with no resultant toxic wastes. This is very exciting and considering the positive outcomes could well be a huge part of the future especially by way of vehicle power units feeding on hydrogen rather that fossil fuels. The ICE principle is certainly not dead and buried despite the rush to electrification. IMHO the future will be a combination of many forms of basic energy sources. The uses for graphene are too many to discuss here but suffice to say that that product is uber useful as well."

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2. Posted by elsiebc, 08/10/2021 2:52

"@Spindoctor Yes, we do have more oil reserves. The same as our solar system didn't always have nine planets, but now it only has eight, but might have ten in the future. We don't know how much oil is actually encapsulated in this earth, or what technologies might be developed that allow us to extract more. Yes, it is ultimately a finite resource, the same as lithium is. "

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 07/10/2021 10:47

"@elsiebc - Oil is a finite resource, there is only a fixed amount of it sloshing around. We can't possibly have 'more oil reserves than any time in history', as we have been using them up for the last 150 years or so....
Burning hydrocarbons for fuel isn't 'sustainable' for that simple reason, though it might take a while for us to run out....
The more serious & immediate point is that no-matter how much Oil there is, the more we burn, the more we damage our planet & by inference our Civilization & Society."

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4. Posted by elsiebc, 06/10/2021 18:07

"Fossil fuel is already sustainable, contrary to popular propaganda. We have more oil reserves than any time in history. "

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5. Posted by Spindoctor, 06/10/2021 10:16

"No such thing as a "sustainable" hydrocarbon analogue.
Porsche's plant in Chile claims to be carbon neutral, but not sure if that includes all the materials, transport thereof, workers (ditto) etc. over the whole lifetime. This outlandish locale was chosen specifically because it's very windy & so the Plant will use wind-generated energy - of which this process uses a hell of a lot.

Irrespective of the "green" credentials of these fuels, F1 is not & will never be in any way eco-friendly. Instead of wasting their energies[sic] on these sops to Environmentalism, let's just do as Mr Noble suggests & accept F1 for what it is."

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6. Posted by Lapps, 05/10/2021 17:02

"And the Teams will still be moved around by 60 18-wheelers and 6 Jumbos, burning something like 100 times the fuel that the race cars use. The ‘sanctimonious industry’ at work again.
"

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7. Posted by kdxrider, 05/10/2021 14:10

"And so, just by what the FOM want, the cost savings will be nil, probably making the next ICE even more expensive. "

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8. Posted by alvarezh3, 05/10/2021 12:16

"Just recently read an article about a synthetic fuel plant that Porsche and it's partners are building in Chile that could supply this fuel for street or race cars.

According to Porsche's R&D boss Michael Steiner, this fuel's specs are exactly the same as current fuels and that no additional mods are necessary to run on current or past ICEs.

On another note, if we are to keep advancing our sport with current transportation tech (electric automobiles) in order to stay "relevant with the times", then why in this world do we have hippodromes?"

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9. Posted by Max Noble, 05/10/2021 11:19

"We already have it! In two easy to use forms… The Bicycle, and locomotion, aka walking… Don’t get me going on sails vs. stink-boats… Really. We love F1 for what it is. It needs to be realistic about what it can “Green”. Fuel is not really one of those items."

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