Aramco joins Geely and Renault in developing solutions for internal combustion engines and e-fueling.

Aramco is joining forces with Zhejiang Geely and Renault to develop efficient internal combustion engines, including one designed to run on e-fuel and hydrogen.

The Saudi oil giant signed a letter of intent Thursday to become a minority shareholder in a new company to be formed by Geely and Renault that will focus on developing internal combustion engines for use in hybrid powertrains.

The company, to be called PWT, aims to become a global supplier of engines, transmissions, and complete hybrid powertrains, with an annual production capacity of about 5 million units. The company will utilize Geely Automobile and Renault's existing powertrain plants and R&D centers.

According to Aramco, the investment in PWT will support the development of e-fuels (commonly referred to as synthetic fuels) and next-generation hydrogen solutions, two fuel sources with the potential to eliminate carbon emissions from internal combustion engines.

Aramco is also working with Formula 1 to develop e-fuel for use in Formula 1 by 2026.

e-fuel is a fuel that is completely carbon circle neutral, meaning that the carbon used to produce the fuel is equal to the carbon emitted by the internal combustion engine when the fuel is burned. The manufacturing process usually involves some form of carbon capture technology. Porsche and its partners already have a pilot plant in Chile that produces e-fuel.

But Aramco is not only developing e-fuel for use in race cars. The fuel is being developed with a view to producing enough to supply most cars in the world.