Alternative fuels are hardly better than diesel

Thanks to e-fuels, combustion engines can still be registered after 2035. German politicians fought hard for this compromise. But a direct comparison between e-cars, petrol engines, diesel and e-fuels shows that synthetic fuels are not a real alternative.

E-cars are practically always better than combustion engines with e-fuels

The e-fuel compromise and the previous blockade of the ban on combustion engines in the EU are by no means universally welcomed. The traffic light has prevailed – and within the FDP – anyway. But what’s the use of combustion engines being allowed to be re-registered after 2035 if they exclusively with e-fuels drive?

If you look at the CO₂ emissions of the drive types, not much. Because synthetic e-fuels only stand a chance against e-cars in one – probably extremely rare – case: if they are exclusively used with Electricity from fully renewable sources getting produced.

Based on the studies by the non-governmental organization Transport & Environment, Statista shows how badly e-fuels perform in terms of the CO₂ balance: A small car of 2030 only e-fuels refueling, which were also only produced with electricity from regenerative sources such as solar or wind energy, would come to one Average CO₂ emissions of 35 g/km. In this case – and only in this case – the e-fuel combustion engine would look better than a comparable e-car with 46 g CO₂/km. So far the good news.

Hardly better than diesel: e-fuels do the CO₂ balance a disservice

A more realistic look at the situation up to 2030 concludes that E-fuels hardly have a better CO₂ balance than diesel and petrol. Combustion engines operated with 85 percent or 100 percent green e-fuels therefore produce hefty CO₂ emissions 195 or 200 g CO₂/km.

diesel and petrol come in comparison to 201 g or 211 g CO₂/km. By 2030, artificial fuels will only perform marginally better than their fossil counterparts – a real indictment.

The type of energy also plays a role when comparing prices between e-cars and combustion engines:

To clarify: both combustion engines with synthetic e-fuels and electric cars do not emit any CO₂ while driving. In the case of purely electric cars, however, there is a large CO₂ footprint during production, which still means a relative CO₂ load per kilometer on the kilometer average.

CO₂ emissions also occur during the production of e-fuels, even if these are 100 percent green electricity be generated. However, this should also be the case in the future only under rare ideal conditions take place. In the comparison, Statista assumes 225,000 kilometers driven over 15 years. The emission values ​​of e-cars are based on the EU27 average for production and charging.