A Japanese car firm has revealed pioneering technology that could save the combustion engine from its imminent death.
With the sale of new petrol and diesel cars due to be outlawed in the UK in 2030 – and five years later in Europe – in an effort to curb vehicle emissions, the days of the traditional engine look numbered with EVs primed to takeover.
But Mazda has this week unveiled a new system that could extend the availability of the combustion engine beyond the next decade if it can be put into practice.
Showcased at this week’s Tokyo motor show, the Mazda Vision X-Coupe concept features what the company has dubbed ‘Mobile Carbon Capture’ technology.
This is incorporated into the exhaust system of its rotary plug-in hybrid powertrain and acts like a filter, removing carbon from the fumes moments before they leave the tailpipe.
Combined with the use of synthetic e-fuel, which Mazda is also developing, the system is claimed to be ‘carbon negative’.
Mazda has revealed pioneering technology that could save the combustion engine from its imminent death
The rakish concept car uses a turbocharged two-rotor engine which is married to a small battery and e-motor to create a 510hp plug-in hybrid system.
And it’s said to be super frugal.
In its most efficient setup, the powertrain should deliver 500 miles of range. Yet, in electric-only mode, it is capable of 100 miles.
But it’s the carbon-neutral claim that is the big headline grabber.
This is partly thanks to a new e-fuel, which Mazda claims is derived from microalgae.
While details of the synthetic fuel are sparse, the Japanese brand has been developing alternatives to conventional unleaded for years.
In February 2021, it became the first automotive manufacturer to join the eFuel Alliance – an industry group promoting the benefits of synthetic fuels made from renewable energy to help reduce transport emissions. Porsche and Suzuki are also members.
The latest fuel creation is said to emit 90 per cent less CO2 than a conventional petrol engine, thanks to the green manufacturing process.
And with the carbon-capture device at the tailpipe, it shaves another 20 per cent off its emission footprint, making it ‘carbon negative’.
Mazda execs say it can ‘theoretically’ reduce CO2 emissions by 110 per cent, which essentially cleans the air as you drive.
Showcased at this week’s Tokyo motor show, the Mazda Vision X-Coupe concept features what the company has dubbed ‘Mobile Carbon Capture’ technology
The CO2 capture tech is incorporated into the exhaust system of its rotary plug-in hybrid powertrain and acts like a filter, removing carbon from the fumes moments before they leave the tailpipe. Combined with the use of synthetic e-fuel, the system is claimed to be ‘carbon negative’
The rakish concept car uses a turbocharged two-rotor engine which is married to a small battery and e-motor to create a 510hp plug-in hybrid system. It has a claimed hybrid range of 500 miles, or 100 miles in EV-only mode
The carbon capture tech takes inspiration from large-scale atmospheric carbon-capture systems, such as Direct Air Capture plants, of which 27 have been commissioned worldwide to extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere to be permanently stored in deep geological formations or used for a variety of applications.
However, because the system is position directly at the point of emissions where carbon density is around 350 times that of the air around it, it is a more active system to efficiently capture CO2.
Mazda has said it will continue to experiment with the technology, including altering the temperature of the exhaust gases to make the carbon-capture process more efficient.
It will even run a racing prototype system in Japan’s Super Taikyu Series endurance event.
In 2021, Mazda announced it had joined the eFuel Alliance – a group of organisations that want to establish CO2-neutral e-fuels as a credible contributor to reducing transport emissions
Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda, pictured with the Vision X-Coupe concept at the Tokyo motor show
Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda, said the development of the technology was part of its strategy to achieve carbon neutrality.
‘The phrase, ‘The joy of driving fuels a sustainable tomorrow,’ expresses not only Mazda’s fundamental spirit, but also the core of its future challenges,’ he said.
‘Under the shared global mission of achieving carbon neutrality, Mazda believes that the joy of driving can be a force for positive change for society and the planet.
‘We remain committed to fulfilling the desire of those who love cars and wish to continue driving forever.’
The EU is currently considering allowing combustion engine cars running on e-fuels to remain on sale beyond its proposed ban on sales of petrol and diesel-engined models in a decade’s time.
The UK Government does not yet have an official line on whether combustion engine cars using e-fuels will be allowed to remain in showrooms after its ban comes into force, but it is expected that the same rules will apply if industry can prove they are ‘zero-emission’ by 2035.
