Audi and Joule - a company based in the US and with operations in the Netherlands - could be about to help us all with our fuel costs.
Joule can create liquid fuels from recycled carbon dioxide (CO2) and has announced successful results from third-party testing of its ethanol fuel, setting the stage to obtain certification for commercial use.
That means it can be used as a drop-in blend to be added to petrol and because it is from waste CO2, it's also good for the environment - as well as our wallets.
Audi initiated the work with Joule and Reiner Mangold, Head of Sustainable Product Development for Audi AG, said: "Audi and Joule share a commitment to making carbon-neutral mobility a reality. The successful testing of ethanol produced from CO2 is another encouraging indication of this technology's progress. We are proud to work with Joule to ultimately sustain global transportation without emitting more CO2 than is consumed."
Serge Tchuruk, President and CEO of Joule, added: "We are pleased to achieve another critical step towards our planned near-term delivery of fuel-grade ethanol from recycled CO2. Using waste CO2 as a feedstock, our technology has the two-fold advantage of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and producing cost-competitive, drop-in fuels. This means we have a unique opportunity to offer a solution to CO2 emitters and to fuel users, directly supporting a low-carbon economy."
Audi and Joule are also working on a hydrocarbon product that can meet regulations in diesel blends of up to 50 per cent, with this liquid following the ethanol to market.
Anything else?
The two laws the new CO2-derived ethanol meets are: American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D4806 - Denatured fuel ethanol for blending with gasolines for use as automotive spark-ignition engine fuel; and German Institute for Standardisation (DIN) EN 15376 - Ethanol as a blending component for petrol.