Audi Just Created Fuel Using Only Air And Water, ‘Blue Crude’ To Revolutionize Pollution-Free Travel

Audi might just have revolutionised pollution-free transportation after it was revealed that the company created diesel from just water and air.

The full ingredients for “Blue Crude,” which has been described by Quartz as a “synthetic diesel fuel,” are water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen. Produced in Dresden, Germany, Audi’s e-diesel creation actually emits more carbon into the atmosphere and has a net-zero carbon footprint.

Audi have been working alongside Sunfire, a Germany alternative energy company, to create “Blue Crude” while it was financed and supported by the German government. What’s even more impressive is that they have made this in just four months. The creation has been praised and even labelled as a major development in the pursuit to create cleaner energy and make the planet a greener place.

Audi released a statement detailing the fuel production process, while Reiner Mangold, the Head of Sustainable Product Development over at Audi, roughly explained how the fuel is created and why it is so important.

“In developing Audi e-diesel we are promoting another fuel based on CO2 that will allow long-distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate. Using CO2 that will allow long-distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate. Using CO2 as a raw material represents an opportunity not just for the automotive industry in Germany, but also to transfer the principle to other sectors and countries.”

In order to create their e-diesel, Audi’s team of scientists and researchers at first heat the water in order to break it down into oxygen and hydrogen. They did this through the process of “high-temperature electrolysis,” which reaches temperatures of 800 degrees celsius. This is “more efficient than conventional techniques because of heat recovery.”

The next step is “the hydrogen reacts with the CO2 in synthesis reactors, again under pressure and at high temperature. The reaction product is a liquid made from long-chain hydrocarbon compounds, known as blue crude.” This entire process is around 70 percent efficient.

The statement explains, “This synthetic fuel is free from sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons, and its high cetane number means it is readily ignitable.”

Johanna Wanka, Germany’s minister of education and research, heaped praise on the process during the announcement, and insists that it will be a “crucial contribution to climate protection and the efficient use of resources, and put the fundamentals of the ‘green economy’ in place,” before he then insisted this will only be the case “[i]f we can make widespread use of CO2 as a raw material.”

[Image via 3-D Car Shows]