A revolution is coming. Ducati wants to produce synthetic gasoline!
Ducati Electric Motorcycle? Not so fast! We’ll try another alternative first
Ducati is looking for ways to resist electrification (we respect that!). Before the last bastion of internal combustion engines collapses, Italians want to test the possibility of using synthetic non-petroleum fuels. Fortunately, the Bologna team is not alone in the automotive industry in this endeavor. Are you keeping your fingers crossed too?
Motorcycles powered by synthetic fuel? But what’s the matter? Oil is running out – warn the field experts and stock market speculators with groundless or unjustified reasons. The next aspect is the exhaust fumes, which are not desirable after all. In recent times, electrification has been sought for salvation, but this, not only very problematic, also has nothing to do with ecology as much as it is officially said, and its supporters are lobbying. So what to do? Probably all of us, if we had a choice, we would choose vehicles that are the least burdensome for the already damaged environment.
E-fuel: a combustion alternative?
Ducati some time ago threatened to electrify its motorcycle offer. However, maybe it was just a shot against the audience, because Italians do not want to give up without a fight. Farnceso Milicia, vice-president of Ducati, in an interview with MCN emphasized that electricity was not their priority at the moment. Milicia believes that in the case of the machines they currently offer, the electric motorcycle is not able to guarantee driving pleasure and the parameters that fans of the brand expect.
According to Milicia, this is why Ducati will consider other options and look for more alternatives before it goes to electric drives. One of them is to be said synthetic fuels. Ducati is not alone in these views in the global automotive industry. Major auto companies are also looking at this option in the medium term and have even started concrete work on developing synthetic gasoline. Hybrid, hydrogen and carbon capture bikes are one of the increasingly significant parts of an industry-wide technology race.
Ducati and alternative fuels: what about synthetic gasoline?
Synthetic gasoline, also known as e-fuel, is a tempting alternative not only to petroleum fuels, but also to other sources of propulsion. An example of a very serious approach to this topic is the statement by Frank Walliser – vice president of Porsche and the person responsible for motorsport in this company. He revealed that Porsche will start testing such a solution next year. And if they turn out to be successful, there will be no obstacles to develop this technology and use e-fuels in cars that are sold today. The point is that the power units already in use do not require any modifications. In turn, Michael Steiner, head of R&D at Porsche, even stated that the attempt to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles was a misunderstanding. Instead of banning and condemning to another poorly ecological monopoly, one should look for another fuel to solve the problem of carbon dioxide emissions. Porsche, together with Siemens, is now launching a special research and production complex in Chile, in which an alternative fuel to petroleum is to be produced. Apparently, the facility, which is being gradually developed, is to provide production capacity of 550 million liters in 2026. The energy needed for the synthesis of e-fuels is to be obtained from wind farms. This is extremely important for maintaining a truly green carbon footprint.
Synthetic fuels are to bring CO2 emissions of cars with internal combustion engines closer to the level of electric cars. This has an analogous effect on the condition of motorcycles.
What’s with this e-fuel? Does it actually emit carbon dioxide when burned? Looking through the prism of the exhaust gases coming from the exhaust pipe and their composition, of course it emits CO2. However, taking into account the entire process, i.e. from formation to combustion, the level of total emissions is to be at a very low level. Why? Because it is carbon dioxide that is used to produce e-fuel, which is mixed with hydrogen obtained from water. As a result of this process, the so-called eMethanol. Its chemical modification allows it to become an e-fuel with a specific octane number. Specs from Porsche even speak of a closed cycle, i.e. the total lack of additional emissions or its negligible level.
Fuel prices will blow our socks off. Prices hovering around €1.50 / l and probably €2.00 in the near future. Unfortunately…
Porsche is not alone in its efforts to eventually replace the classic unleaded e-fuels. The commencement of work on the development of synthetic gasoline is already declared by McLaren, Aston Martin, Audi and Bentley. BMW is also showing interest in the subject. So it is probably a matter of time when other large car concerns will revolve around the topic. What if you join forces and start working together on a life-giving mixture for classic motoring, which, in addition, would be ecologically neutral, i.e. in fact truly pro-ecological? Then also the costs of production and distribution could be more sensibly mixed into the final price of the product at e-gas stations.
Coming back to the title Ducati, this Italian motorcycle brand was the first to express a sincere interest in the subject and supports its opinion with market research and the profile of its customers. Ducati fans are not going to be content with a quiet and polite electric vehicle. After all, how to integrate the desmodromic timing into the inverter of a three-phase electric motor?
Could the race between the automotive industry and the bureaucracy which, for unknown reasons, want to stop the production of internal combustion vehicles completely? We have really interesting times. It would be nice if in a dozen or so years we did not have to buy fuel for our motorcycle classics on prescription in a pharmacy …
Ducati Electric Motorcycle? Not so fast! We’ll try another alternative first
Ducati is looking for ways to resist electrification (we respect that!). Before the last bastion of internal combustion engines collapses, Italians want to test the possibility of using synthetic non-petroleum fuels. Fortunately, the Bologna team is not alone in the automotive industry in this endeavor. Are you keeping your fingers crossed too?
Motorcycles powered by synthetic fuel? But what’s the matter? Oil is running out – warn the field experts and stock market speculators with groundless or unjustified reasons. The next aspect is the exhaust fumes, which are not desirable after all. In recent times, electrification has been sought for salvation, but this, not only very problematic, also has nothing to do with ecology as much as it is officially said, and its supporters are lobbying. So what to do? Probably all of us, if we had a choice, we would choose vehicles that are the least burdensome for the already damaged environment.
E-fuel: a combustion alternative?
Ducati some time ago threatened to electrify its motorcycle offer. However, maybe it was just a shot against the audience, because Italians do not want to give up without a fight. Farnceso Milicia, vice-president of Ducati, in an interview with MCN emphasized that electricity was not their priority at the moment. Milicia believes that in the case of the machines they currently offer, the electric motorcycle is not able to guarantee driving pleasure and the parameters that fans of the brand expect.
According to Milicia, this is why Ducati will consider other options and look for more alternatives before it goes to electric drives. One of them is to be said synthetic fuels. Ducati is not alone in these views in the global automotive industry. Major auto companies are also looking at this option in the medium term and have even started concrete work on developing synthetic gasoline. Hybrid, hydrogen and carbon capture bikes are one of the increasingly significant parts of an industry-wide technology race.
Ducati and alternative fuels: what about synthetic gasoline?
Synthetic gasoline, also known as e-fuel, is a tempting alternative not only to petroleum fuels, but also to other sources of propulsion. An example of a very serious approach to this topic is the statement by Frank Walliser – vice president of Porsche and the person responsible for motorsport in this company. He revealed that Porsche will start testing such a solution next year. And if they turn out to be successful, there will be no obstacles to develop this technology and use e-fuels in cars that are sold today. The point is that the power units already in use do not require any modifications. In turn, Michael Steiner, head of R&D at Porsche, even stated that the attempt to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles was a misunderstanding. Instead of banning and condemning to another poorly ecological monopoly, one should look for another fuel to solve the problem of carbon dioxide emissions. Porsche, together with Siemens, is now launching a special research and production complex in Chile, in which an alternative fuel to petroleum is to be produced. Apparently, the facility, which is being gradually developed, is to provide production capacity of 550 million liters in 2026. The energy needed for the synthesis of e-fuels is to be obtained from wind farms. This is extremely important for maintaining a truly green carbon footprint.
Synthetic fuels are to bring CO2 emissions of cars with internal combustion engines closer to the level of electric cars. This has an analogous effect on the condition of motorcycles.
What’s with this e-fuel? Does it actually emit carbon dioxide when burned? Looking through the prism of the exhaust gases coming from the exhaust pipe and their composition, of course it emits CO2. However, taking into account the entire process, i.e. from formation to combustion, the level of total emissions is to be at a very low level. Why? Because it is carbon dioxide that is used to produce e-fuel, which is mixed with hydrogen obtained from water. As a result of this process, the so-called eMethanol. Its chemical modification allows it to become an e-fuel with a specific octane number. Specs from Porsche even speak of a closed cycle, i.e. the total lack of additional emissions or its negligible level.
Fuel prices will blow our socks off. Prices hovering around €1.50 / l and probably €2.00 in the near future. Unfortunately…
Porsche is not alone in its efforts to eventually replace the classic unleaded e-fuels. The commencement of work on the development of synthetic gasoline is already declared by McLaren, Aston Martin, Audi and Bentley. BMW is also showing interest in the subject. So it is probably a matter of time when other large car concerns will revolve around the topic. What if you join forces and start working together on a life-giving mixture for classic motoring, which, in addition, would be ecologically neutral, i.e. in fact truly pro-ecological? Then also the costs of production and distribution could be more sensibly mixed into the final price of the product at e-gas stations.
Coming back to the title Ducati, this Italian motorcycle brand was the first to express a sincere interest in the subject and supports its opinion with market research and the profile of its customers. Ducati fans are not going to be content with a quiet and polite electric vehicle. After all, how to integrate the desmodromic timing into the inverter of a three-phase electric motor?
Could the race between the automotive industry and the bureaucracy which, for unknown reasons, want to stop the production of internal combustion vehicles completely? We have really interesting times. It would be nice if in a dozen or so years we did not have to buy fuel for our motorcycle classics on prescription in a pharmacy …