UK’s Royal Society policy briefing looks at role of synthetic fuels in sustainable transport

In the UK, a policy briefing by the Royal Society set out the potential for synthetic fuels to help transition to more sustainable fuels over the next 20 years, at a time when transport demand is set to rise.

Synthetic fuels, made using carbon captured from the air, farm waste or biomass, could help the transport sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet “net-zero” greenhouse gas emission goals.

High production costs—between two to five times as expensive as wholesale fossil fuel prices—and inefficiencies in the manufacturing process have so far limited use of synthetic fuels.

Key research challenges identified in the report include improving our understanding of the techniques and materials used in catalysis; producing cheap low-carbon hydrogen at scale; and developing sources of competitively priced low carbon energy.