(Bloomberg) —
HIF Global LLC., a clean energy startup backed by Porsche AG, won regulatory approval to build a $6 billion facility in Texas that is betting on renewable power to produce substitutes for gasoline and shipping fuel.
The plant is expected to harness wind power to produce about 200 million gallons a year by 2027 of the substitute that could be used in ships as methanol or further processed to become a carbon-neutral gasoline, Meg Gentle, executive director of the Houston-based company, said at the BNEF Summit in New York on Monday.
“It costs us about double the price of fossil fuel gasoline to produce the e-gasoline,” but the combination of state and federal incentives, especially through President Joe Biden’s climate law, will help put the substitute on par with traditional fuels, Gentle said. HIF expects to enter into long-term contracts to secure 5 gigawatts of wind and solar generation in Texas for the project, she said.
Read More: Porsche Backs Venture That Taps Wind to Make Gasoline Substitute
Capital markets are enthusiastic about the project as Porsche’s backing shows. The German carmaker tested the e-fuel in its 911 and Panamera models in Patagonia and HIF is talking with multiple automakers and shipping companies to buy fuel from Texas, Gentle said.
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