The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is gearing up for the new racing season and this year all 32 cars will be powered by Porsche eFuels, a near-carbon-neutral option to classic fuel sources.
The German sports car maker has been one of the leading proponents of artificial fuels in recent years and believes they can be used to keep combustion sports cars alive in the future. All of the crude fuel used in the racing series comes from Porsche’s pilot plant in Haro Oni in Chile and undergoes a special blending process to prepare it for the rigours of motorsport.
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This year’s Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup season will run as a support programme at 8 Formula 1 events in Europe. The season will start on May 19 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and end at the Italian Grand Prix on September 1. Porsche will provide around 50,000 litres of eFuel to the participating groups during the season.
The vehicles competing in the championship have been a partially artificial fuel blend since 2021. This year, Porsche says they will use “potentially near-artificial eFuels,” indicating that the fuel used is likely not 100 percent artificial, hence the company’s added that it believes in competition. it will only be “potentially almost CO2 neutral”.
Porsche produces its eFuel using a process that combines renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide currently used comes from a biogenic source, but will eventually be extracted directly from the atmosphere. Its power plant in Chile is powered by wind turbines. The company has invested more than $100 million in its eFuel program and plans to operate eFuel sites in Chile, Uruguay, the United States and Australia.
“The Super Cup is also a beacon for us when it comes to eFuels. Motorsport has been a driving force for innovation, now also in terms of fuel,” said Michael Steiner, Member of the Board of Management Research and Development at Porsche AG. “With this project, we are taking additional steps to achieve our decarbonization goals. “