Ecology and economy in e-mobility

I had the pleasure of meeting Bertrand Piccard at a forum on energy and mobility hosted by? EPFL . In?his book Réaliste - solons logiques autant qu'écologiques, Piccard invites us to “change altitude and approach environmental protection in a different way”, a “third way” that reconciles ecology and economy.

Transportation is essential to social progress. At the same time, the transport sector is one of the largest emitters of CO2 and a major source of air pollution around the world. While its decarbonization is critical for mitigating climate change, this is a long-term process complicated by a number of factors – not least by cars being individual property with high purchase costs.?

There’s general agreement on the usefulness of (green) hydrogen in industry, in combination with nitrogen for the production of fertilizers and in blast furnaces to produce steel.

However, the debate gets bogged down when it comes to mobility. High costs and the lack of hydrogen infrastructure appear to be the big roadblocks.?

In my view, e-fuels are a "third way" to reconcile ecology with economy in terms of electro mobility. With the cost of solar and wind often cheaper than building new fossil fuel power plants, renewable energy has grown by leaps and bounds and stands ready to close the carbon loop e.g., by driving electrochemical reduction of CO2?to produce renewable methanol from waste CO2 and hydrogen gases. Methanol is liquid at ambient temperature and pressure and thus enables the continued use of conventional fuel storage and bunkering with just a few modifications.?Its safe handling practices draw on a long history and experience in shipping and industrial use.

At Econimo-Drive AG , we are developing a novel technology using e-fuels such as e-methanol to help drive the synergic defossilization and decarbonization of the transport and the energy system and looking very much forward to making a meaningful impact together with our current and future partners.

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