By Teddy Nwanunobi
TotalEnergies has announced that it is developing a 100 per cent renewable fuel, called Excellium Racing 100, for motor sport competition.
The company, in a statement, revealed that the fuel will be introduced from next season at the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), including the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022, and at the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
The new fuel, TotalEnergies said, will be produced on bioethanol basis, made from wine residues from the French agricultural industry, and from ETBE produced at TotalEnergies’ Feyzin refinery near Lyon from feedstock also sourced from by the circular economy, the company noted.
TotalEnergies said the fuel opens a new chapter in the endurance racing and motorsport energy transition for all the actors involved.
It should allow an immediate reduction of at least 65 per cent of the racing cars’ CO2 emissions, according to the company.
“Our ambition is to be a major player in the energy transition and to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, together with society.
“TotalEnergies is supporting its customers and partners in their evolutions, by thus applying its strategy to motorsport: sustainable liquid fuels, electricity, batteries, hybridisation, hydrogen… Advanced biofuels have an undeniable part to play in helping the transport sector to reduce its CO2 emissions immediately.
“This 100 per cent renewable fuel, that will be made available in motor racing as soon as 2022, is a perfect illustration. As we are becoming a broad energy company, the racing track is more than ever an open-air laboratory for TotalEnergies,” the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, said in a company statement.
The FIA President, Jean Todt, spoke of its importance to the motor sport.
“Endurance racing, by its nature, has always served as an excellent research and development platform, and it is an important milestone to have the FIA World Endurance Championship switching to 100 per cent sustainable fuel.
“It’s FIA’s major goal to implement sustainable energy sources across its portfolio of motor sport disciplines, thus paving the way in the reduction of CO2 emission, perfectly reflecting our race-to-road strategy, as well as the FIA’s PurposeDriven movement,” Todt said.
The FIA WEC & ELMS CEO, Frédéric Lequien, expressed delight that TotalEnergies chose their championships to launch the new innovation.
“It is extremely encouraging that TotalEnergies is paving the way for others, and creating a 100 per cent renewable fuel.
“I firmly believe that the WEC and ELMS are the ideal playground for TotalEnergies in order to trial its new innovative Excellium Racing 100 fuel. Endurance racing is the ultimate test for all road-related products, and we are delighted that TotalEnergies has chosen our championships and Le Mans to help launch this cutting-edge new creation,” Lequien added.
TotalEnergies has been the partner and official fuel supplier of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the creator and organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, since 2018.
The company describes bioethanol as an agricultural by-product made from residues from the wine industry, such as wine lees and grape pomace.
Following several steps (industrial fermentation, distillation then dehydration), this base is then blended with ETBE (Ethyl Tertio Butyl Ether) and with several performance additives issued from the Excellium technology developed by TotalEnergies, the company highlights.
TotalEnergies notes on its website that bioenergies have a vital contribution to make in reducing emissions, particularly in transportation.
The company, which notes that it has been a pioneer in biofuels for more than 20 years, describes bioenergies as a perfect fit with its ambition to become the responsible energy major.
In May 2020, TotalEnergies, then named Total, announced its ambition to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.
In May this year, the company announced that shareholders approved a resolution to change the company’s name to TotalEnergies, “thereby anchoring its strategic transformation into a broad energy company in its identity”.