E-fuel blending refers to the practice of mixing synthetic fuels, also known as electrofuels or e-fuels, with conventional fossil fuels to reduce the carbon emissions of the overall fuel blend. E-fuels are synthetic hydrocarbons that are produced using renewable electricity. In most cases, the renewable electricity is first used to produce hydrogen from water, which also requires carbon dioxide (CO₂). If this comes from the air or from biological sources, the CO₂ cycle is closed and there is no net increase in the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere when the e-fuels are burned. If unavoidable CO₂ sources are used, such as cement production, e-fuels are also carbon-neutral.  E-fuels are therefore seen as a potential solution for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in sectors where direct electrification is difficult, such as aviation, heavy goods vehicles and certain industrial processes. The blending of e-fuels can play a significant role in decarbonizing these sectors while keeping existing infrastructure and vehicles usable.

Advantages and applications of e-fuel blending

Carbon reduction: By blending e-fuels with conventional fossil fuels, the carbon emissions associated with the fuel are reduced compared to the use of pure fossil fuels. This supports efforts to mitigate climate change.

Infrastructure compatibility: The blending of e-fuels enables the use of existing fuel distribution infrastructure, such as pipelines, filling stations and tanks. This is particularly important for sectors where infrastructure conversion can be difficult.

Sectoral integration: The addition of e-fuels enables the decarbonization of sectors that are difficult to electrify directly due to technical or operational restrictions. For example, e-fuels can be used in aviation, shipping and long-distance transportation due to their high energy density.

Energy storage: The production of e-fuels can offer an opportunity to temporarily and locally store surplus renewable energy at times of high generation and thus contribute to balancing energy supply and demand.

Transition strategy: The blending of e-fuels can serve as an intermediate step on the way to full electrification in certain sectors and enable a gradual transition to cleaner energy sources. In this way, Scope 3 emissions in the CO2 footprint are significantly reduced by switching technology early. 
 

Role in the energy transition

The blending of e-fuels can play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon energy system:

Decarbonization of sectors: The blending of e-fuels offers a way to decarbonize sectors that cannot easily transition to full electrification, thus contributing to the achievement of emission reduction targets.

Leverage effect on infrastructure: By using existing fuel distribution networks, e-fuel blending minimizes the need for extensive infrastructure changes.
Flexibility: The blending of e-fuels can be a supporting solution that complements other strategies, such as electrification, as part of a diversified approach to decarbonization.

Global impact: The blending of e-fuels can be applied globally. There are already corresponding regulations and synthetic fuels are already approved for blending. These regulations apply internationally and are specifically tailored to internationally active sectors such as aviation and shipping.

Blending e-fuels mixes synthetic fuels with conventional fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions and promote the decarbonization of sectors that are difficult to electrify directly. E-fuels offer benefits such as carbon reduction and infrastructure compatibility . Of course, there are still challenges related to energy efficiency, technological maturity and possibly certain resource constraints, but these are secondary to energy storage density and the needs of the application fields (aviation, shipping and long-distance transportation).

The blending of e-fuels will therefore play an important role in the general energy transition. On the one hand, as a transitional solution for reducing carbon emissions in sectors that are crucial to the global economy and, on the other hand, as a long-term solution for long-distance transportation. Storing a local or temporary oversupply of energy to meet demand during longer periods of energy shortages is only made possible by e-fuels.