Tasmania has been earmarked for a $1 billion production plant for synthetic green fuels (also known as e-fuel).
According to the Australian Financial Review, the plant (to be located south of Burnie if all goes to plan) could produce up to 100 million litres of e-fuel a year once it’s up and running.
So, we’re talking big money and big volume.
And it’s worth noting that Porsche owns 12.5 per cent of the organisation that will be running the show, HIF Global.
When Porsche announced its stake in the organisation earlier this year, it stood by its pledge for 80 per cent of its new vehicle sales to be fully electric by 2030. However, in the same breath, representatives maintained that e-fuels development was an important additional strategy to ensure the large numbers of traditional vehicles that would still be on the road could be catered for in the future.
The claim is that the plant will make fuel that will be close to carbon neutral when used in trusty internal combustion engines.
Clearly, these Porsche people are in the know and see that there will still be a demand for fuel in the next decade, even as many motorists make the switch to electric vehicles.
Now, the approval process for the plant has only just started – with Tasmania’s Environmental Protection Authority being filed a notice of intent – so nothing is set in stone.
However, with all the resources and research at its fingertips, what does a major marque like Porsche ramping up its investment in sustainable fuels signal?
Well, that things are definitely heating up.
And word on the street is that HIF Global has focussed on European markets. My question is – will we get the goods locally?
Words: TACC State Manager, Bruce McIntosh. As featured in The Mercury on 19 August 2022.