Audi wants to extend their expertise also in fuels not only in premium cars. The German manufacturer wants anew fuel, obtained with the help of Global Bioenergies specialists. The result is a synthetic fuel, produced by Global Bioenergies for Audi and called e-benzin.
 
Audi “e-benzin” is synthetically produced without the use of petroleum. It is 100-percent iso-octane and therefore has an outstanding octane rating of RON 100. Because Audi “e-benzin” contains no sulfur or benzene, it burns very cleanly. It is thus a high-grade fuel that enables engines to use high compression ratios for enhanced efficiency.
 
Audi will test the new fuel in the lab and in test engines. In the medium term, the company and Global Bioenergies aim to modify the process so that it requires no biomass, instead requiring just water, hydrogen, CO2 and sunlight. This way, the fuel will not only be very flamable but also very efficient.
 
Global Bioenergies operates a pilot plant for the production of isobutene, the starting material for Audi “e-benzin”, in the French town of Pomacle, near Reims. Isobutene is produced there from renewable raw materials rather than the usual petroleum.
 
Another project partner is the Fraunhofer Center for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes (CPB) in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt. Researchers there use hydrogen to transform the gaseous isobutene into liquid iso-octane. Global Bioenergies is building a demonstration plant at the Fraunhofer Center that will begin producing larger quantities in 2016.