On Tuesday, Nokia will conduct a test drive with a tractor equipped with a diesel engine that will be refueled with electric fuel. This is the first time that electric fuel made from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide will be tested in vehicle use. The technology for producing electric fuel has been developed by VTT in collaboration with companies.
The aim of this project is to use the fuel to replace fossil diesel fuel in areas that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy road traffic and shipping. It can also be used in work machines. VTT’s research professor Juha Lehtonen says in the announcement that the fuel consumption and emissions will be measured during the test drive, which lasts several hours.
According to Neste, hundreds of kilograms of synthetic hydrocarbons have been produced in the project for fuel production. After this, the hydrocarbons have been refined by Neste into ready-to-use synthetic diesel. This fuel is now being tested in practical operation at the factory of Agco Power, which manufactures diesel engines.
VTT’s project received EUR 3.3 million in funding from Business Finland, and in addition, the companies’ parallel research and product development investments increase the funding to more than EUR six million.