Synthetic, sustainable fuel is seen by many to be the lifeblood of both Formula 1 and motor sport as a whole as it moves towards a net Carbon zero future – it really is the future of racing.
Desperate to shed its skin as the most wasteful and environmentally damaging sport out there – at least in the image it projects – F1 has been beating its own drum in recent years about how it plans to move to being net zero by 2030.
Four years prior to this deadline, the world championship will begin using synthetic sustainable fuel, developed with Saudi oil giant ARAMCO, where the carbon circle is neutral, i.e. the same amount of carbon is put into the fuel’s manufacture as is emitted when it’s used, maintaining the amount that is already in the atmosphere.
This is essential for F1’s green target in that it will not only be used in the competition cars, but also the trucks and planes which carry the grand prix circus round the world.
However, we might not have to wait until 2026 to see sustainable synthetic fuels used in motor sport – F1 tech guru Paddy Lowe’s Zero Petroleum is already producing what could be the elixir of racing life in years to come.
It therefore might be hard to believe, but a small ice sculpture recently carved at a local British airshow could prove to be one of the most significant moments in the humanity’s struggle to protect its environment.
The carving – of a Red Arrow stunt plane – was made using a chainsaw powered by Lowe’s 100% sustainable fuel.
It followed the RAF and ZP joining forces to conduct the world’s first-ever demonstration flight of a plane using entirely synthetic aviation fuel back in June.
“We have to reverse the emissions process” Paddy Lowe
Now the two organisations have announced a deal for ZP to supply all the airforce’s fuel in a bid to make the entire RAF net-carbon zero by 2040.
Lowe and his team are urgently pushing hard to get the fuel into as many other industries as possible, with him telling Motor Sport, “The world is decades behind – we have to reverse the emissions process.”
F1, in partnership with Aramco, is forging ahead with its own 100% sustainable fuel for introduction in 2026 but, as Lowe is demonstrating, grand prix racing is not the only viable area for this form of green energy.
ZP’s new fuel works via fully sustainable sources, and produces zero emissions both in its manufacture and use. The process uses electricity generated via solar panels and wind farms, which then powers the extraction of hydrogen from water via electrolysis and that of carbon from the atmosphere, gathered using a technique known as direct air capture.
Lowe with ZP-powered chainsaw
Zero Petroleum
These are then synthesised to make petrol, with no emissions generated in the process.
Theoretically, the same amount of carbon dioxide which is generated is then recaptured, so no further emissions are put into the atmosphere – potentially the ideal alternative to using finite and environmentally damaging fossil fuels.
For Lowe, his developing venture isn’t just a business idea jumping on the sustainability bandwagon, with these issues playing on his mind since his younger days.
“I’ve always thought about it as this sort of sense that you’re using up something that will run out,” he says.
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“Even when I was 17, when I got my first motorbike, in those days the idea was that we were going to run out of oil.
“I was already thinking ‘What could we do about that?’ The word sustainable wasn’t used back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but now it’s a big word.
“We’ve been living unsustainably since the Industrial Revolution came along.”
Lowe’s vastly successful career took in title-winning stints at Williams, McLaren and Mercedes. Having witnessed both F1’s innovation but also wastefulness (pre-engine use limits, budget caps and net-zero target), the engineer hit upon pursuing a solution after leaving the grand prix world at the start of 2018.
He points out that this it already existed – but simply no-one has chosen to take it on until environmental concerns hit mainstream consciousness in a big way.
“It was a realisation, not an invention,” he says. “The idea to make fuel from air and water has been discussed a lot in academia in and other environmental circles – there just aren’t very many people actually doing it, and since there’s nobody doing it in the UK, it’s clearly a big opportunity, and very exciting.
Zero Petroleum has now agreed to supply the RAF, with the aim of it being net-carbon zero by 2040
Zero Petroleum
“There was a small British company led by a man named Tony Marmont that did it more than 10 years ago, who were probably the first in the UK.
“Arguably, its timing was very good, but the world is the one that’s behind the times. We should have been doing this 20 years ago, let alone 10 years ago.”
One of the main other alternative energy sources touted by many is biofuel, but Lowe explains why he feels this is not viable solution for worldwide use.
“The real problem with those solutions is scale,” he says.
“You simply cannot make enough material for the consumption we have in the world by using bio-agricultural sources.
“We already struggle to feed ourselves and use agriculture for other things we want like wood for construction. These products put massive pressure on fertile land and drives deforestation – we don’t need to add onto that burden.
“As an example, just to fuel British airways, you would need a piece of land the size of Ireland – and a lot of its landscape isn’t even fertile. It’s not scalable and therefore not feasible.”
Now Lowe says the issue which faces the implementation of Zero Petroleum’s idea is simple in concept, but not easy to overcome.
“The challenge remains one of economics,” he explains. “There’s a lot of talk, but there’s not always the right finances behind that, whether at state, corporate or even individual level.
Zero Petroleum flight set Guinness World Record
Zero Petroleum
“You know, ‘What will people pay for things?’ Everybody wants to do the right thing, but they don’t necessarily have the money to do that.
“It’s about getting the right traction, and we have done that bit by bit.”
What’s massively helped to drive Zero Petroleum’s progress is its new deal with the RAF to supply all its aviation fuel.
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Lowe emphasises just how importance this is deal to his company and sustainable fuel research in general.
“I have to really big-up RAF and, and its support in this area,” he says.
“They are funding a good level of R&D for the next few years, which is a tremendous help with the challenges ahead, to get this technology commercialised.
“The emissions profile and fossil fuel consumption of the air force is quite complex and varied, but the vast bulk of it will be in aviation fuel, that is most of its carbon footprint.
“One of the things we’re able to show is that we can actually build a plant large enough to provide all of that fuel, and that will be possible by 2040.
“All praise to them for their vision, investment and support where it counts, rather than just talking about it.”
With F1 planning its own sustainable fuel from 2026, Lowe can see ZP in motor sport as well, but also expands on the other areas it could move into.
“We’re approaching many industries actually,” he says. “These fuels will probably be needed in least of all in a regular road car, which is why we support electrification of regular road cars – we’re not the total salvation of petrolheads.
Zero Petroleum is aiming to become used in industries far and wide
Zero Petroleum
“Aviation is a clear one, because an electric battery needed to power it is 50 times heavier [than an ICU] for the same energy – the maths doesn’t work.
“There are so many in between [industries] that you wouldn’t realise but are essential to modern life: agriculture – a combine harvester cannot sensibly be electrified, given its performance demand – trains, maritime shipping, mining, industrial machinery. It’s almost easier to name the areas it’s not suited for, rather than for those it will be vital.
“We can’t really get into the F1 space, due to not being a major sponsor, but we’re always on the lookout for opportunities. I think there are a few motor sport series that that could be interesting onc,e we’re in the right position, within two or three years, with the right partnerships, and funding.”
