“It is unrealistic to believe that the global vehicle population of over one billion cars with combustion engines can be replaced by electric cars in the foreseeable future,” says Frank Obrist, founder of the Obrist Group, which focuses on sustainable energy concepts, and calls for “more realism and less ideology in energy policy”. He points out: “Many countries around the world lack the political will, public acceptance and financial resources to switch to e-mobility for decades to come.”
As an alternative, he calls for the increased use of environmentally friendly synthetic fuels (e-fuels) in combustion cars. Obrist argues: “Ultimately, it’s about the overall carbon footprint, including battery production, power generation, the construction of new infrastructure, the potential scrapping of more than a billion vehicles and the production of synthetic fuels from renewable energy sources – and electromobility performs significantly worse than modern e-fuels in the overall balance.”
Vision of a global methanol economy
Frank Obrist refers to the concept of a global methanol economy presented by science journalist Jean Putz in his latest book “Prosperity and Economic Growth Without Regrets: Climate Rescue Yes – Deindustrialization No” (ISBN 978-3-98674-104-4). The book outlines how synthetic fuel can be produced on a large scale in the Earth’s sunbelt with the help of photovoltaics and converted into methanol. This so-called “green methanol” has two major advantages: firstly, the efficiency of fuel production does not play a significant role because the sun is infinitely available around the equator, and secondly, methanol can be transported via all existing global infrastructures for fossil fuels such as oil.
Put simply, in a two-stage process, hydrogen is first produced using solar energy and then methanol is produced from hydrogen. The frequently voiced argument against this process – the high energy input required – is invalidated by the fact that the solar energy required for production is available in abundance around the equator. The water required for hydrogen production is obtained from the air in the process; even in deserts, the humidity is sufficient for this.
Huge methanol production plants in the desert
In his book, Jean Putz outlines, among other things, the construction of huge methanol production plants in desert areas and on barren wasteland. He also describes how the synthetic fuel can be transported via conventional tankers, pipelines and tanker trucks to the pump at the filling station. However, methanol is not only suitable for the transport sector, but also as a universal energy source.
“We have already implemented this concept in several prototypes and are in a position to set up industrial production plants on a large scale,” says Frank Obrist, speaking on behalf of his group of companies. The book and concept were presented at the COP28 world climate conference in Dubai, among other places. “Since then, we have seen a lot of interest from Asia, Africa and the Arab world,” says the head of the Obrist Group. Delegations from several countries, such as India, have already visited the company’s headquarter in Lindau to find out about the feasibility of large-scale methanol production in their countries.
In discussions with foreign delegations, sustainability pioneer Frank Obrist has established that the economic viability of the methanol concept plays a key role. He explains: “As soon as it becomes clear that all existing infrastructures, from transportation to cars with combustion engines, can continue to be used and that the costs are therefore much lower compared to electricity-based e-mobility, my discussion partners’ eyes often glaze over. Instead of getting fossil fuels out of the ground, methanol is simply produced as a substitute fuel and everything else remains unchanged.”
Methanol production serves climate protection
For sustainability entrepreneur Frank Obrist, it is important to note that synthetic fuels are not the second-best solution for climate protection for cost reasons, but also the best from a technical point of view. He explains: “Methanol production using our patented process removes more carbon dioxide from the air than is released during subsequent combustion. In other words: Every kilometer that a vehicle fueled with e-fuels travels improves the climate.” The Obrist Group uses the term “atmospheric fuel” or aFuel for short to emphasize the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the overall CO2 balance.
Obrist Group: Founded by inventor and entrepreneur Frank Obrist, the Obrist Group focuses on innovations for global, sustainable and CO2-neutral energy concepts. The spectrum ranges from the global supply of renewable energies to atmospheric fuels (aFuels) and innovative CO2-neutral drive concepts for the automotive industry. With over 200 patents, the Obrist Group is one of the world’s most important innovators in the field of sustainable energy concepts.