During the last Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix of 2026, Eni and Petronas they signed a “Viability Agreement” (AF) to evaluate the development of innovative high-performance biogasoline from the technological process Ecofiningthrough which Eni produces HVO biofuels since 2014, using renewable raw materials.
The objective of this association “is to evaluate the technical, market and sustainability profiles, as well as the performance levels of new biogasolines from renewable raw materials, that can be used in motorsport competitions and later applied to the development of commercial products”both parties explain.
Eni and Petronas will combine their experience in the sector
This new agreement reinforces the collaboration between both companies in the field of biofuels, in which both already have many years of technological and industrial experience. “supporting the progressive decarbonization of the transport sector”they claim. The study will allow both companies to combine their work methods supported by innovation and efficiency.
On the one hand, Eni contributes its years of study and activity, focused on sustainable energy solutions and the production, in the Enilive biorefineries, of commercially available biofuels from renewable raw materials – including HVO diesel and SAF-biojet – as well as the development of innovative biogasoline.
On the other side we have Petronas, which has a long history in fuel technology; from fossil fuels to high-performance sustainable fuels for combustion engines, together with its expertise in sustainable energy solutions and advanced product development.
Together with Petronas, Eni recently established Searah, an independent 50/50 joint venture that combines key operations in Indonesia and Malaysia, including a portfolio of 19 gas production and development assets in both countries. Together with Enilive and Euglena, Petronas has established Pengerang Biorefinery Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture company developing a biorefinery in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia.
By the second half of 2028, the plant is expected to have the capacity to process up to 650,000 tonnes of renewable feedstocks per year, producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), HVO diesel and bionaphtha. Enilive is a world leader in the production of HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) diesel, currently available in more than 1,700 service stations throughout Europe.
The MotoGP fuel that could reach your motorcycle
In this context, it is expected that the studies carried out by both companies will end up having a commercial application. We must remember, in line with this type of fuel, in turn related to the competition, that since 2024 the fuel in all MotoGP categories has been at least 40% of non-fossil originand by 2027, fuel in all categories will be 100% of non-fossil origin.
However, for now we can only wait for the conclusions drawn from this agreement by both companies. Likewise, and focusing on one of the core aspects of the matter, we are left with the conclusion shared by our MotoIT colleagues: “The survival of the internal combustion engine could depend less and less on the engine itself and more and more on the fuel we put into it.”
In other words: if large-scale commercialization of this type of biofuels on which Eni and Petronas are already working is generated, it would undoubtedly be a point in favor for the continuity of some of the prevailing technologies within the automotive sector. Otherwise, it is very likely that, sooner rather than later, the bureaucrats who run the show from Europe will decide to definitively put an end to, for example, the internal combustion engine.
