VTT eFuel project tests eDiesel in practice for 1st time in Finland

VTT Research Professor Juha Lehtonen (Photo: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.)

The eFuel project of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. and partners has developed a concept for producing electrofuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide using a combination of different methods.

On Nov. 21, this paraffinic eFuel was tested for the first time in Finland on a diesel-powered tractor at AGCO Power’s Linnavuori factory in Nokia.

The new electrofuel is also suitable for vehicles that are difficult to electrify and is therefore an important step in the development of sustainable fuel solutions.

Global climate goals require drastic changes in all aspects of life.

Carbon capture and utilization are key to moving towards sustainable-fuel solutions for transport.

The eFuel project, coordinated by VTT, has combined high-temperature electrolysis, carbon capture and Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon synthesis to develop electrofuel production for commercial and industrial scale.

New methods have made the production of green hydrogen much more efficient than before.

“Using Finnish technology, we have succeeded in producing eDiesel, or electrofuel, from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide on a precommercial scale,” said VTT Research Professor Juha Lehtonen. “The fuel can be used to replace fossil diesel in sectors that are difficult to electrify such as heavy road transport and shipping. It can also be used in machinery. Our next step is to obtain information on the usability of the fuel in a field test.”

The project has produced hundreds of kilograms of synthetic hydrocarbons for sustainable transport fuel.

The hydrocarbons have then been refined at Neste into a drop-in paraffinic diesel, which is now being tested at AGCO Power’s Linnavuori plant in Nokia.

“The Valtra T235D tractor, powered by AGCO Power’s 74 LFTN diesel engine, is fueled with the new eDiesel and, during the test drive, which will last several hours, fuel consumption and the carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, fine particles and other substances in the exhaust emissions are measured,” said Kari Aaltonen, AGCO Power's director of engineering. “The eDiesel produced in the project is expected to be of high quality and meet current road-diesel fuel standards.”

There is no single solution to future emission reductions.

AGCO Power’s engine plant is also investing in research and development and exploring a wide range of options for reducing emissions from agriculture.

“We are developing solutions for different types of machinery to meet the needs of farmers, for example with electric batteries, hydrogen, methane and methanol,” Aaltonen said.

It is important that emissions and fossil fuel use can be significantly reduced by means other than the direct electrification of transport.

“Sustainable fuels suitable for the current diesel-engine fleet, such as drop-in eDiesel, can be blended with fossil diesel completely freely and still meet the quality requirements of paraffinic diesel according to the EN 15940 standard,” Aaltonen continued.

According to Päivi Aakko-Saksa, principal research scientist at VTT, based on previous experience with paraffinic fuels, the eDiesel being tested is also expected to be an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil diesel in terms of local emissions.

“By analyzing the results of the Nokia test run, we will see whether eDiesel is also an environmentally friendly alternative with regard to harmful exhaust emissions,” she said.

VTT's eFuel project (2021-2023) is an innovation and research project cofunded by Business Finland, VTT and its corporate partners, and valued at more than 6 million euros (USD$6.6 million).

In May, a demonstration environment for the production of power-to-liquid (PtL) electric fuels was launched by VTT in collaboration with a number of corporate partners.

The project consists of three components: a solid oxide electrolyzer unit (Convion and Elcogen as partners), a carbon dioxide recovery unit (Carbon Reuse Finland and Andritz) and a Fischer-Tropsch fuel synthesis unit (VTT and Ineratec).