In part one last month, we looked at the Advanced Sustainable (AS) fuels F1 has mandated for power units from 2026. In this follow-up article, we look at why the world needs them to replace fossil fuels for combustion in increasingly obsolete internal combustion engines (ICE) for wheeled transport, and how they stack up against the alternative options available.
Currently, a medium-sized turbo diesel car returns around 45mpg. An imperial gallon of diesel embodies 49kWh, which means it travels 0.9 miles per kWh of energy in the tank. Add a hybrid system, and the mileage can be improved by around 30 per cent to 1.2m/kWh. Both these powertrains currently use carbon that is not present in the atmosphere and emit CO2 into it. They also emit local pollutants such as NOx and particulate matter (PM), reducing air quality in urban areas and generating increasingly apparent public health issues.
If these ICEs use an AS fuel, one that derives carbon from the atmosphere, either from plants, biowaste or COcapture, they become roughly net zero carbon, but still emit local pollutants.
