Formula E’s fuel for the future: environmentally friendly product helps to clean up everybody’s act

Formula E circuit is powered by pollution-free glycerine – odourless, non-toxic, water soluble and an abundant by-product of bio-fuel industry

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Glycerine fuels the Formula E car at the Hong Kong E-Prix. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 7:30pm, 1 Dec 2017Updated: 8:41pm, 1 Dec 2017

The FIA Formula E Championship was formed with the environment in mind and it continues to explore developments in technology that are designed to make the world a cleaner place.

That’s why if you should find yourself wandering past the generators that are powering the whole show here at the HKT Hong Kong E-Prix, you’ll notice immediately that something is missing – the smell of diesel fuel.

Thanks to advances made by Aquafuel Research Ltd, the Formula E circuit is powered by glycerine, a substance that is gradually helping change the way we live – and affect the planet that supports us.

“Formula E were looking for another option other than mains power or diesel,” explains Andy Welch, Aquafuel Research Ltd’s Formula E team manager says. “That matches the whole ethos of the series. With glycerine you can get the emissions extremely low. It’s way below all the emission controls in Europe.

Glycerine puts the power into Formula E racing with its odourless, non-toxic fuel. Photo: Edward Wong

“The fuel itself is renewable. Most of it at moment comes as a by-product from the bio-fuel industry. It’s water soluble. It’s non-toxic. It has no odour. I know that it doesn’t make much sense to most people, that you can use it as a fuel. But here we have it.”