{"id":98891,"date":"2026-07-07T11:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/98891\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:01:12","slug":"swiss-scientist-develops-synthetic-gasoline-to-cut-car-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/98891\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss Scientist Develops Synthetic Gasoline to Cut Car Emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Swiss chemical engineer is developing a \u201cdrop-in\u201d synthetic fuel that could significantly reduce emissions from the millions of combustion engines\u00a0\u2013 powering machines, vehicles and aircraft\u00a0\u2013 that will remain in use for decades, offering a climate-friendly alternative without engine modifications.\n<\/p>\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

July 7, 2026 – 12:24\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n My work is focused on making videos and podcasts about science and technology topics. I specialize in developing explainatory video formats for mobile viewing, mixing animation and documentary styles.
\nI studied filmmaking and animation at Zurich University of the Arts and began working as a video journalist at SWI swissinfo.ch in 2004. Since then I have specialised in creating different styles of animation for our visual products. <\/p>\n


\n More from this author <\/a><\/p>\n


\n Multimedia <\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n I am a climate and science\/technology reporter. I am interested in the effects of climate change on everyday life and scientific solutions.
\nBorn in London, I am a dual citizen of Switzerland and the UK. After studying modern languages and translation, I trained as a journalist and joined swissinfo.ch in 2006. My working languages are English, German, French and Spanish. <\/p>\n


\n More from this author <\/a><\/p>\n


\n English Department <\/a><\/p>\n

Other language: 1 <\/p>\n

EN original <\/p>\n

\n \u4e2d\u6587 <\/p>\n

\n zh <\/p>\n

\u745e\u58eb\u7814\u53d1\u51fa\u4f4e\u6392\u653e\u201c\u5373\u7528\u578b\u201d\u5408\u6210\u71c3\u6599\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read more: \u745e\u58eb\u7814\u53d1\u51fa\u4f4e\u6392\u653e\u201c\u5373\u7528\u578b\u201d\u5408\u6210\u71c3\u6599
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Many combustion engines running on fossil fuels will continue to operate globally for years. Recognising this, Alessia Cesarini, a chemical engineer at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), has developed a technological solution to produce synthetic fuel. Her innovative \u201cdrop-in\u201d fuel is designed to be fully compatible with existing vehicles and infrastructure, providing a less-polluting solution that can be produced locally.<\/p>\n

Cesarini\u2019s research focuses on a chemical process called oligomerisation, which transforms ethylene or propylene molecules into a liquid fuel that closely mimics conventional gasoline. The process begins with carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from the biosphere or atmosphere, converted into alcohols like methanol or ethanol. These are then dehydrated into ethylene and propylene gases, which are subsequently recombined using a secret, energy-efficient catalyst into longer hydrocarbon chains, forming the synthetic fuel. The gasoline reaches a similar standard to unleaded gasoline, research octane number (RON) 95.<\/p>\n

\n More<\/p>\n

\"Liquid<\/p>\n

More <\/p>\n

Climate solutions\n <\/p>\n

Making synthetic fuels: a Swiss scientist\u2019s bid to decarbonise cars and planes <\/p>\n

\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

Jul 3, 2026 <\/p>\n

A Swiss chemical engineer is developing a green fuel for combustion engines \u2013 a synthetic \u201cdrop-in\u201d fuel that works with existing engines and infrastructure. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read more: Making synthetic fuels: a Swiss scientist\u2019s bid to decarbonise cars and planes
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

The next stage is to scale up the technology to bring it to market. Initial applications are expected to target sectors like forestry, where controlled usage can facilitate testing. While precise emissions data is still being gathered, Empa says the fuel is climate-friendly, with Cesarini estimating a potential reduction in emissions of 90-95%. <\/p>\n

This work looks set to position Switzerland as a leader in advanced research for low-carbon fuels, says a German fuels expert. Empa is actively investigating various synthetic fuel production methods. The International e-fuels Observatory 2025 highlights the rapid expansion of the e-fuels sector, with nearly 120 industrial-scale projects identified across 28 countries. Cesarini\u2019s work targets a unique niche by focusing initially on \u201cdrop-in\u201d gasoline using energy-efficient catalysts, before later also tackling the aviation sector. <\/p>\n

Articles in this story <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Swiss chemical engineer is developing a \u201cdrop-in\u201d synthetic fuel that could significantly reduce emissions from the millions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[453,455,32302,11853,806,457,48997,48998,461,41,17,335,21740,21362,332,330],"class_list":["post-98891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-beat-climate-solutions","tag-beat-emissions-reduction","tag-beat-energy-transition","tag-chemicals","tag-diesel-fuel","tag-environment","tag-environmental-pollution","tag-inorganic-chemical","tag-production-type-original","tag-swiss","tag-switzerland","tag-type-video","tag-user-need-explain-it-to-me","tag-user-need-give-me-perspective","tag-vertical-video-9x16","tag-video"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116878356626453896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}