President Takahashi

The nature of CN fuels is very different from commercially available gasoline, and we cannot use them as they currently are.

Our ultimate goal is for customers to be able to simply fill up with CN fuels instead of gasoline, using the existing engines already out there.

At first we really didn’t know what we were doing, and ended up with oil being diluted within the engine.

Now, we have gradually come to understand such issues and gained some idea of the direction we need to take on both the engine side and the fuel side.

Although we’re able to use CN fuels in this kind of setting, in terms of widespread adoption, I think they are still a distant prospect for customers.

Figuring out how to make them part of everyday life is something that car companies cannot do alone.

I think we need to involve those in the energy sector, as well as METI and the national government, to work on creating the future together. That is our next challenge.

SUBARU CTO Fujinuki

Two years ago, we were simply using e-fuel bought from a producer. In the process, we found that it differs from regular gasoline in many ways.

Last year, however, we changed our approach and began requesting specific characteristics from fuel manufacturers, seeking to make them usable in existing cars.

NISMO CVP Ishikawa

The CN fuel we used three years ago severely diluted the oil, making it difficult to use in racing.

I believe the CN fuels used by the other three companies are similar to what we have now, which is much closer to commercial gasoline.

So on the technical side, the innovation needed for CN fuels to replace gasoline is proceeding at a very good pace.

The next step is to produce these fuels in Japan. I think the fact we have started using them in motorsport will drive progress on this front.

HRC General Manager Kuwata

HRC is also involved in motorcycle racing. We have started using this CN fuel with motorcycles as well, including the national championships, but we are running into the same issues as with cars.

There were also new challenges, given the differences in engines and how they are used.

If CN fuels are to be a feasible solution, we have to figure out how to make them available to customers. Aside from production capacity, another big hurdle is cost.

This is not something we can solve on our own—we need to work with the oil industry and suppliers, providing them with all kinds of feedback.

In the course of reducing costs, we cannot afford to create more problems. That’s why we are working hard to provide feedback identifying the issues, as we seek to make these fuels available for customers to buy in the near future.

Mazda Spirit Racing Team Principal Maeda

Mazda is the only company pursuing biofuels. Initially, we thought there was no way they would be usable in racing.

Now we can get the same performance as diesel. The goal, however, is to be able to fill up normally at regular gas stations.

Unless we can get to that stage, these fuels will never move beyond racing.

Despite all the talk of being “carbon neutral,” they may end up having limited benefits for the earth’s environment.

Biofuels are particularly difficult to make in large quantities. As such, we have embarked on research to see if we can somehow obtain the same performance and the same properties with different production methods or compositions.

I think participating in the ST-Q class is very important in this regard.