Currently reading: Synthetic fuels will coexist with EVs, says solar fuel maker

Claims the fuels could allow electricity harvested outside Europe to be used for decarbonisation in the region

Synthetic petrol is not a silver bullet for decarbonising transport but will instead complement electric cars in years to come, according to the chief of solar fuels start-up Synhelion.

The firm last year opened its first plant in Jürich, Germany, using solar energy and waste biomass to produce “nearly” carbon-neutral jet fuel, diesel and petrol.

These are virtually identical to their fossil-based counterparts and can be used in cars or planes without any modifications.

But it does not eliminate the problem of particulate emissions (albeit reduced, as synthetic fuel does not have the contaminants found in fossil fuels), and producing it is less efficient than using the required electricity to power an EV directly.

“If you produce electricity in the UK or in Switzerland, I think it makes sense to use that electricity primarily to electrify [cars],” conceded Philipp Furler, CEO and founder of Synhelion. “You lose a lot in efficiency because of the process.”

He added: “We don’t really see a competition between the two”.

“The electricity you produce locally at home should be directly used for electrification, but the stuff which you cannot use could be used to produce fuels to store.”

He added that synthetic fuels should be “produced at really good locations in Europe or outside Europe and then transported”, while the electricity generated in Europe should primarily be used for EVs.

Synhelion founder Philipp Furler filling an Audi Quattro SWB

According to Furler, the electricity generated by a small wind or solar powerplant in Europe could be used to power 1700 electric cars annually, compared with around 450 ICE cars using synthetic fuels.

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“So it doesn’t make sense to produce fuels; you should instead use it directly,” he said. "That I fully agree with. However, the point is you don’t need to produce the fuels locally.” 

By instead using a solar plant in Morocco or a wind plant in Chile, Furler suggested, you could make use of electricity that would not otherwise have made it to mainland Europe to clean up transport.

Moreover, Furler claimed, such a plant could produce three times more electricity per year than its equivalent in Europe. That means you could cleanly fuel thousands of ICE cars in Europe using that electricity, rather than zero EVs – because that power cannot be transported, whereas the liquid petrol can be.

Synhelion has already partnered airline Lufthansa and Switzerland’s importer for the Volkswagen Group, AMAG, to deploy its fuels in the real world.

AMAG was the first to use the company's fuel to power a car, demonstrating it in a short-wheelbase Audi Quattro.

But there remains a long road ahead until they are ready for the mass market, said Furler: “Around 2030 to 2035, the different pathways are likely at a competitive scale, and can then be deployed rather quickly.”

He cited scaling up as the biggest challenge, because of the cost involved, and said it could take until 2050 until it’s on a comparable scale to the fossil fuel industry.

There is also an issue with cost: Synhelion’s fuels are currently “five to 10 times more expensive” than fossil fuels and “probably we will not achieve full parity".

The argument could become more compelling if fossil fuels are taxed on their carbon impact (bringing their costs up closer to synthetics fuels), said Furler, and a barrel price of around €1 (86p) per litre would make it “a viable solution”.

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Charlie Martin

Charlie Martin Autocar
Title: Staff Writer

As part of Autocar’s news desk, Charlie plays a key role in the title’s coverage of new car launches and industry events. He’s also a regular contributor to its social media channels, creating content for Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook and Twitter.

Charlie joined Autocar in July 2022 after a nine-month stint as an apprentice with sister publication What Car?, during which he acquired his gold-standard NCTJ diploma with the Press Association.

He is the proud owner of a Mk4 Mazda MX-5 but still feels pangs of guilt over selling his first car, a Fiat Panda 100HP.

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WonkoTheSaneUK 3 July 2025

Industry should use thing, says man whose livelihood depends on selling same thing.

Symanski 3 July 2025

He's repeating a lot of what I've been saying, you can have EVs and you can keep the existing infrastructure running them on synthetic fuels.   And in liquid form, you're able to store power that you've generated much easier than environmentally unfriendly batteries.

 

This then works better in equipment that you can't convert to elecric at the moment.   Plant and machinery that's running all day.   Be it for construction or farming.   Even Lord Bampot is backing hydrogen instead of electric.

 

But the one part that is still not recognised with the need to scale up and produce synthetic fuels is developing nations.   The nations that aren't going to buy very expensive EVs but continute to run ICE long after we've shot ourselves in both feet.   If you want to decarbonise the world you've got to come up with a solution for them too, and that is synthetic fuels.

 

In reality we shouldn't be pushgin towards EVs, and certainly not as the only answer, but increasing the amount of renewable fuel inside our regular fuels.   Mandate that a certain percetage comes from synthetic fuel (which is better than the ethonol rubbish they add now).

 

The situation will change when there's a step change in battery technology.   When the costs of batteries are a tenth of what they are now, with a capacity ten times what they currently.   With much lower environmental costs.   That's what EVs and homes need.

 

xxxx 3 July 2025
Symanski wrote:

He's repeating a lot of what I've been saying, you can have EVs and you can keep the existing infrastructure running them on synthetic fuels.  

The situation will change when there's a step change in battery technology.   When the costs of batteries are a tenth of what they are now, with a capacity ten times what they currently.  That's what EVs and homes need.

Point 1, no 'law' is stopping this from happening. Synthetic fuels are just not practical, affordable or clean. That's why BEVs are proving a success and synthetic fuels are not.

Point 2, batteries do not 'need' to cost from £500 and have the capacity of 2,500 miles, silly distance. 

xxxx 3 July 2025

"synthetic fuels should be produced at really good locations in Europe or outside Europe and then transported, while the electricity generated in Europe should primarily be used for EVs."

There are already 2 electric cables between Africa and Europe with a 3rd one coming into operation next year. So why is it easier to create these fuels and ship them round the world  rather than use existing grids that already connect Africa to Europe.  It's easier to transport electricity than dangerous liquids.