Four Japanese Automakers Are Testing A New Low-Carbon Gasoline In The Country’s Toughest Racing Series

Japan has a wonderfully enduring relationship with paper. From shoji doors to origami, paper, especially the traditional washi made from the kozo bush, is a big deal in homes. Now, it will be a big deal on some of the country’s most famous racetracks, too. Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota are planning to use a new biofuel in the Super Taikyu series. It’s a low-carbon fuel made from wood, grass, and recycled paper instead of corn, sugarcane, and other food crops.

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Using low-carbon fuels isn’t new in Super Taikyu’s ST-Q class, where non-production development vehicles are able to put new technologies through the crucible of motorsport. But previous models, including Toyota’s ORC Rookie Racing GR86 CNF, used Carbon Neutral Fuels (CNF), made from CO2 and hydrogen, that were produced outside of Japan. This fuel will be produced at home, by the petroleum company Eneos.

This new fuel won’t be entirely carbon-neutral. Eneos calls it a mix of gasoline and ethanol, so it’s largely the E20 mix we’re used to. According to Eneos CTO Yuichiro Fujiyama, the big difference is that while most ethanol used for fuel comes from glucose, often from corn or sugarcane, this won’t be. The company wants to produce it from cellulose. Wood, including recycled paper, as well as cotton, hemp, and nearly any other plant can be used. Eneos sees a mix of synthetic fuels (see CNF above) and biofuels as needed to achieve carbon-neutral “gasoline” in the future.

The four automakers announced the new fuel at a press conference last month. While Honda also takes part in the class, it will continue to use the old CNF this year. Fujiyama described the team-up as “supporting ‘today’s normal,’ taking the lead for ‘tomorrow’s normal.’”

Existing Cars Need Carbon Reduction Too

For both the oil company and the automakers, this move is about the need to remove carbon emissions from vehicles already on the road, not just new ones being built. Toyota Vice President Hiroki Nakajima said that while electrification would lower CO2 emissions, carbon-neutral fuels were necessary to lower emissions as much as possible. Toyota has been a strong proponent of alternative fuels, including running GR Corolla and Yaris cars powered by green-generated liquid hydrogen combustion engines.

Subaru CTO Tetsuo Fujinuki said that, “from an engineer’s perspective, whereas previously we explored how to use the available fuels, now we are part of fuel development,” adding that “we are very excited.” If it works in the racing series for Subaru, he said, the companies involved would be able to offer a wider variety of vehicles benefitting the company, the planet, and the consumer.

Mazda CTO Ryuichi Umeshita said that “since Super Taikyu has provided us with a concrete platform to experiment, we want to share knowledge with our co-challengers and learn from each other, as we work hard to gradually open the door to the future.”

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Nismo Senior Vice President Shinichi Kiga explained why testing the new fuel in motorsports was so valuable.

“More than anything, races are run at full load and full throttle, the equivalent of driving tens of thousands of kilometers under regular conditions. Being able to observe that in a single short period provides incredibly valuable data,” Kaga said. “As testing grounds, [endurance races] help us to clearly understand and overcome technical challenges, marking a solid step forward toward a market launch.”

Sources: Toyota, Carscoops