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German Federal Research Minister Anja Karliaczek Presents Innovative Methanol Car

By September 27, 2021 3   min read  (578 words)

September 27, 2021 |

Fuel Cells Works, Karliczek: CO2 Exhaust Gases From The Steel Industry Are "Recycled" Into Fuels

Federal Research Minister Anja Karliaczek presented the prototype of a car in Berlin last Wednesday that can be powered by the synthetic fuel methanol. This fuel is based on green hydrogen, one of the most important basic building blocks for the climate-friendly conversion of key industries in Germany and around the world, and CO2, which can be extracted from industrial exhaust gases.

At the presentation of the car, Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek said: “Climate protection can only succeed with green hydrogen. That is why we are already massively supporting research into the use of green hydrogen, although efforts will have to be increased again in the next few years.

In industry and transport in particular, we will continue to need chemical energy sources in the future. And: not all industrial processes can be completely decarbonised. There will continue to be CO2. We need solutions for this.

Today we are building a very interesting bridge between these two points: The use of methanol from “recycled” CO2 from industry as a fuel in road traffic. My house is making an additional 10 million euros available for research into this value chain.

But the methanol car itself is also an “innovation showcase” for low-emission, resource- and energy-efficient mobility of tomorrow. Synthetic fuels play an important role in making a sustainable, climate-friendly mobility system possible worldwide. This is important in shipping and air traffic or wherever a charging station for the electric car may not always be available in the future. This is where the serial hybrid drive can be a good solution in the long term. ”

Prof. Robert Schlögl, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and Carbon2Chem project coordinator emphasizes: “The urgency of climate protection requires rapid and comprehensive entry into renewable energy. In a global market for renewable energy, carbon-containing energy sources such as methanol are central components. The presented concept of the serial hybrid drive combines the advantages of the efficient electric drive and the energy-dense and easily accessible synthetic fuel Methanol. This concept needs to be further optimized through the research project presented here. ”

Frank Wolf, CEO of the OBRIST Group, adds: “Our HyperHybrid powertrain, whose zero-vibration generator uses green methanol to generate electricity, is an essential innovation for globally applicable, affordable and emission-neutral e-mobility – in other words, a green, liquid car Electricity in the tank! ”

Background:

The methanol car is part of the flagship project Carbon2Chem, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry and has so far been funded by the BMBF with 145 million euros. The project, which was launched in 2016, converts the steel mill’s CO2-containing steel mill gases with the help of green hydrogen into basic chemicals and synthetic fuels. Since 2020 Carbon2Chem has been preparing the industrial implementation in a second project phase. This includes the establishment of value chains for the products produced.

The work package for the methanol car, which was supplemented in August 2021, focuses on the recycling of Carbon2Chem’s main product, methanol. For this purpose, a concept for a serial hybrid drive for automobiles, among other things, is being further developed, optimized and implemented as a demonstrator. For this purpose, Obrist DE GmbH works together with the Technical University of Munich, the Technical University of Dresden and the RWTH Aachen. The work package on the methanol car is funded with a further 10 million euros.

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