Start-Up Invents Home Petrol Generation Machine

A US company has unveiled a new machine which can create petrol out of thin air – from the comfort of your home.

Aircela showed off the invention – creatively referred to as the ‘Machine’ – which captures carbon from the atmosphere, before it’s combined with hydrogen to produce unleaded petrol.

The machine is about the size of three large dog kennels stacked together, and is said to produce approximately 3.8 litres of petrol per day.

Using free standalone solar electricity to power the machine, the company says the fuel costs approximately US$1.50 per gallon – or roughly 61 Australian cents per litre.

However, this doesn’t account for the cost of the machine, which Aircela expects to bring to market for between US$15,000 and US$20,000 (AU$23,000 to AU$31,000).

But while the cost-benefit is attractive, the invention would allow drivers to instantly make the running of their petrol-powered cars carbon-neutral.

Though the car will still produce carbon emissions as it’s being driven, that carbon has already been removed from the atmosphere, effectively cancelling out the tailpipe emissions.

While the idea of turning atmospheric carbon into fuel is nothing new, this is believed to be the first time such a feat has been achieved on this scale.

Porsche is one of the companies helping to fund the creation of large e-fuel facilities – including one in Tasmania – which will create synthetic petrol, diesel, LPG, and avgas through carbon-capture.