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ECO-FUELS EXPLAINED

GREEN FUEL, ECO-FUEL, ELECTRIC BATTERIES –WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

BY KATE NG

According to Natural Resources Canada, clean fuels like biofuel and low carbon hydrogen make up five percent of Canada’s energy supply today but could make up 60 percent by 2050. But what exactly are eco-fuels?

Also referred to as low-carbon fuels, the category of clean fuels includes biofuels, hydrogen and synthetic fuels which vary greatly in development. For instance, biofuels have been around for over two decades, while synthetic fuels are still in the early phases of development.

This explainer will focus on cleaner-burning fuels that produce fewer emissions than carbon-based liquid fuels, rather than ecologically renewable energy sources like electricity and wood that lack the portability of liquid fuel.

HOW DO ECO-FUELS WORK?

Similar to their conventional diesel and gasoline counterparts, eco-fuels work through combustion. When heated in a combustion process, the resulting energy powers an engine, propelling a vehicle forward or backward.

This is similar to a power plant running on coal versus natural gas–both will produce carbon to a degree due to the nature of the combustion process, but one produces much fewer carbon emissions.

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES?

Today, the majority of eco-fuels used come in the form of biofuels like ethanol and bio mass-based diesel blended with gasoline and diesel, respectively.

By blending ethanol and other biomass-based sources with conventional liquid fuels, producers can lower their carbon intensity. In turn, this lowers emissions from the combustion process, and ultimately provides a ‘lower-carbon fuel’ that work within the current fleet of internal combustion engine vehicles.

In other words, blended fuels provide an ecologically friendlier option, compared to conventional fuels.

According to the Canadian Fuels Association, this is a gradual measure towards Canada’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and helps decarbonize existing transportation choices, with the potential to mitigate carbon output given Canada’s reliance on cars, especially outside densely populated cities like Toronto and Montreal.

WHY ECO-FUELS?

Given the recent push towards electrification, you might ask why eco-fuels would be relevant. According to Mark Zacharias, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, this stems from different fuel characteristics for different vehicles.

The ideal fuel source really depends on the type of vehicle you’re driving. Worldwide, batteries are winning the sales race but as you get into Class 7-8 trucks, batteries may not be ideal so that’s why there’s an interest in fuel cell vehicles.

“For larger vehicles between cities and provinces—long distances—hydrogen is the ideal solution,” said Zacharias.

Mitigate The Climate Crisis

According to the Government of Canada, the oil and gas sectors made up 27 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions, while the transportation sector made up another 24 percent of emissions, the equivalent of 338 megatonnes of carbon dioxide.

Given the intrinsic link between these two sectors and global reliance on a transport network that relies on carbon producing fuels, the wider-spread adoption of eco-fuels may be a necessary decision to mitigate manmade climate change.

National Security

Besides combating an impending climate crisis that may render parts of the world uninhabitable, a major advantage of eco-fuels is national energy security. Canada is the world’s fifth largest oil producer but remains impacted by the invasion of Ukraine since 2022.

According to Zacharias, clean energy may create a safeguard against international fluctuations, assuming local production.

Examples of local production include Suncor Energy’s ethanol production in St. Clair Township, Ontario, hydroelectric generation stations in Nelson, Saskatchewan, and the Winnipeg Rivers. Eco-fuels are part of this strategy but are not the only fuel produced in Canada.

“Research from the Canadian climate institute says that the average energy bill in Canada should rise by 20 percent by 2050. When you use diesel, those prices are set on the international market, which affects you whether it’s a utility bill or at the pump,” said Zacharias.

Economic Opportunity

Besides the opportunity to augment a national industry with more jobs and support a lower-carbon transition, surplus eco-fuels may become a lucrative commodity in the future globally.

“We do see demand for these fuels growing substantially because of certain policies like the (Federal) Clean Fuel Regulation, so we’re really wanting to fill the gap and produce it domestically, not necessarily rely on imports,” said Devin O’Grady, director of fuels at the Canadian Fuels Association.

“Canada has an opportunity to be a leader in helping decarbonize transportation through lower-carbon (eco) fuels. The infrastructure and much of the technical expertise is already in place. We can continue to leverage that strategic advantage to further unlock the potential of these fuels,” said O’Grady.

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