CG: n

CT: E-fuels, like e-methane, e-kerosene and e-methanol, are all fuels in gas or liquid form that are produced from renewable (solar or wind power, for example) or decarbonised electricity. This raw material differentiates them from biofuels, which are primarily produced from biomass.
By drastically reducing the harmful emissions associated with combustion engines, e-fuels play a key role in decarbonisation strategies. Taking their whole production cycle into account, their carbon footprint is a lot lower than oil-based fuels.

S: Engie – https://www.engie.com/en/news/e-fuels-what-are-they (last access: 2 July 2023)

N: 1. Short for “electric fuel” (“e-“: Abbreviation of electric or electrical).

. A combustion fuel that is theoretically environmentally friendly and is carbon neutral. A range of combustibles that is produced by combining hydrogen from water with atmospheric carbon dioxide using renewable energy sources to make the fuels.

2. Fuel made using renewable or decarbonized electricity.

3. How are they produced?

It all depends on whether the desired end product is in gas or liquid form:

• gas e-fuels: renewable hydrogen and e-methane, which can both be liquefied later, to produce liquid H₂ and e-GNL respectively.
• liquid e-fuels: like e-methanol and e-crude, also known as synthetic crude oil, which make e-kerosene and e-diesel.
• gas or liquid form: synthetic ammonia.

Depending on the form or the e-fuel required, either a Power-to-Gas or Power-to-Liquid process is used. Both of these production processes involve two or three phases, with first of all hydrogen (H₂) production by water electrolysis from renewable electricity, associated with another molecule – CO₂ for e-crude and synthetic methane or methanol, or nitrogen (N₂) for synthetic ammonia. Synthetic crude oil must be refined (like fossil oil) to produce synthetic kerosene or diesel.

4. Applications: Heavy mobility accounts for about a quarter of global CO₂ emissions. With this in mind, and at a time when electricity would appear to be the future of road transport, e-fuels have a key role to play, particularly in the maritime and air transport sectors for which decarbonisation cannot be achieved solely through electrification.
E-fuels have the advantage of using the same infrastructure as their fossil equivalents (petrol, diesel, kerosene, methanol or natural gas). Putting them in competition with biofuels, which offer the same advantage.

S: 1. Wiktionary – https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/e-#English, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/e-fuel (last access: 2 July 2023). 2. BV – https://marine-offshore.bureauveritas.com/shipping-decarbonization/future-fuels/e-fuels (last access: 2 July 2023). 3 & 4. Engie – https://www.engie.com/en/news/e-fuels-what-are-they (last access: 2 July 2023).

OV: efuel

S: IATE – https://iate.europa.eu/search/result/1688287890727/1 (last access: 2 July 2023)

SYN: electrofuel, power-to-liquid fuel. (depending on context)

S: IATE – https://iate.europa.eu/search/result/1688287890727/1 (last access: 2 July 2023)

CR: biofuel, biomass fuel.