HIF Global, Porsche and Volkswagen Group Unveil New DAC Unit

(HIF Global/PR Newswire) DAC unit, "the future of CO2 recycling," to be installed at the HIF Haru Oni Demonstration facility in Chile in 2024 -- HIF Global, the world's leading eFuels company, together with Porsche AG and Volkswagen Group Innovation, announced today (September 5, 2023) at the IAA Summit in Munich, Germany the development and installation of a Direct Air Capture ("DAC") unit at the HIF Haru Oni Demonstration facility in southern Chile in 2024. HIF's Haru Oni is the first fully integrated eFuels plant to test DAC technology.

President and CEO of HIF Global, Cesar Norton, says, "We are not waiting for solutions to come to us; we are creating them and leading the way. We have proven carbon-neutral eFuels are a real solution to help decarbonize transportation. Now we are accelerating Direct Air Capture technology that enables efficient and low-cost CO2 capture – the future of CO2 recycling. We are very happy to be cooperating with Porsche to pioneer this unit in our facility in Chile and we hope to escalate this technology in the near future."

eFuels are produced by combining green hydrogen and recycled CO2, obtaining eMethanol which is then converted into eGasoline, eSAF, or other synthetic fuels. The Haru Oni facility is currently operating with biogenic CO2 and hydrogen produced with the strong winds of the Magallanes region. The DAC prototype comes as a supplementary solution, filtering up to 600 tons of carbon dioxide per year directly from the air.

"To slow global warming, it is essential to reduce emissions and remove CO2 from the atmosphere," says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG. "At the same time, we need CO2 as a raw material in many production processes. Why not combine the two? We're working on that. We want to put an industrial direct air capture, or DAC, procedure into series production. Together with the experienced team at Volkswagen Group Innovation, our established eFuels partner HIF Global, and MAN Energy Solutions, we are examining the integration of a DAC pilot plant at the eFuels plant in Chile. We regard DAC as a viable technology for the future because it can be used to extract the carbon molecules required for the production of many products in a sustainable manner. So, we are working on bringing the technology to a higher degree of maturity."

Earlier this year, HIF Global announced a complementary agreement with Baker Hughes to test their Mosaic DAC technology pilot units to accelerate DAC deployment at commercial scale.

HIF Global is the world's leading eFuels company, developing projects to convert hydrogen using low-cost renewable power into carbon-neutral liquid eFuels that can be transported and utilized in existing infrastructure. The name HIF represents the mission of the company: to provide Highly Innovative Fuels to make decarbonization of the planet possible. HIF Latam, HIF USA, HIF Asia Pacific, and HIF EMEA are wholly owned subsidiaries of HIF Global. HIF Global started producing the first liters of synthetic Fuels from the Haru Oni Demonstration Facility in Magallanes, Chile in December 2022 and expects to begin construction of the commercial-scale HIF Matagorda eFuels Facility in Texas in 2024. HIF Global's first Australian development, in Tasmania, was announced in July 2022. For more information, visit www.hifglobal.com. READ MORE

Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, has been selected by HIF Global, the world’s leading eFuels company, as the methanol licensor for HIF Global’s Paysandú eFuels project in Uruguay. The facility would be the largest e-methanol plant in South America and will use electrolytic (green) hydrogen and waste CO2 from an ethanol plant to produce e-methanol. E-methanol, through use of renewable feedstocks, enables the production of a lower carbon fuel versus traditional methanol1.

JM’s e-methanol eMERALD technology has been proven as a credible route to decarbonise methanol production1 and this technology will be deployed at the HIF Paysandú eFuels facility, with expected production capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year of e-methanol. The e-methanol will be utilised to support the rapidly growing demand from the marine market, as well as a feedstock to produce e-gasoline (via a methanol to gasoline process) which will facilitate the decarbonisation of over 150,000 vehicles.

This collaboration builds on the successful demonstration of the eMERALD technology in the HIF Haru Oni eFuels facility, where JM licenses its technology and supplies the catalyst. The demo plant has successfully operated for over 12 months, producing methanol that is further processed into gasoline.

Additionally, HIF Global has announced other planned eFuels projects to be built in the US, Tasmania, and Chile. JM is already working with HIF Global to support the development of these projects.

HIF Global will invest $4 billion in the facility, making it the most significant investment in Uruguay’s history. Construction of the plant is planned for 2025 and is expected to create approximately 1,500 jobs during construction with an additional 300 permanent operational positions.

Alberto Giovanzana, Managing Director – CT Licensing at Johnson Matthey, said: “The market for sustainable methanol fuels is growing rapidly and presents an important solution to decarbonise the shipping, road transport, and other industries. As the world’s leading methanol synthesis technology and catalyst supplier, JM has a great wealth of experience working in the methanol industry. We look forward to continuing our partnership with HIF to provide our e-methanol technology for this exciting project.”

Victor Turpaud, CEO HIF Latam, said: “eFuels are a replacement for fossil fuels and are a necessary solution for decarbonising global transport. We have already demonstrated the capability to produce eFuels with green hydrogen and recycled CO2, using Johnson Matthey's technology at our Haru Oni eFuels facility in southern Chile. Expanding our collaboration with Johnson Matthey represents the importance of long-term relationships to HIF and to achieve our common goals”.