E-fuels are better for the climate than fossil fuels, so why haven’t they taken off yet?

The transportation sector contributes roughly a quarter of the greenhouse gases emitted globally every year .

E-fuel proponents argue that by recycling carbon emissions that already exist, we can make difficult-to-electrify industries greener.

Chemically speaking, an e-fuel is no different than the liquid fossil fuels we’ve been relying on in industrialized countries since the late 1800s .

Carbon recycling company LanzaTech uses a special microbe that’s hungry for carbon monoxide to produce e-fuels.

The company is looking at ways to diversify its e-fuel production and diversify the raw materials it needs to acquire to make the fuel.

Some companies are looking at alternative routes to gather the ingredients of e-fueels.

LanzaTech is working with Technip, a French energy company, to capture emissions from the Gulf Coast to make ethylene.

Most other e-fuel companies are slowing chipping away at the American market by trying to create sustainable aviation fuel.

With aviation sticking with some form of carbon fuel for the foreseeable future, this market might be the most open.