Hydrogen Insight says that “almost six times more renewable energy would be required to power a car using e-fuels, compared to a battery-electric alternative.” In addition, a report from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research found that the fuel made at HIF’s Haru Oni facility in Chile costs roughly €50 (roughly $55) per liter to manufacture, roughly 100 times pricier than the “typical wholesale price of fossil gasoline.”
However, it also found that once industrial scales of manufacture come into play, it could be possible that the fuel would only cost around €2 per liter to produce. This would mean a fuel price of around $9 a gallon, which is expensive but not unreasonable. That’s what Europeans generally pay.
“In the long term, production costs of less than €1 per liter of e-fuel will probably be possible.” With another e-fuel plant planned for Tasmania in Australia, this goal does not appear to be unreachable.
The plant is expected to be operational in 2027.