Combustion ban softened? Last word on e-fuels not yet spoken
The combustion engine exit from the EU is fixed. But when it comes to e-fuels, the last word has apparently not yet been spoken. The EU is not rowing back with its plan to phase out combustion engines. But alternative fuels are not taboo. It could be the end of the end for the internal combustion engine.
E-cars still number 1 – but the EU is opening up to e-fuels
E-fuels are back on the table. Months after the decision to ban combustion engines from 2035, the EU admits a Exception to: “It’s a very, very small exception, and I am convinced that the vast majority of the automotive industry already knows that it is much cheaper to switch to electromobility or to work with hydrogen,” said Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission, to the Rheinische Post (via Time).
And yet it is there, this exception. The EU Commission wants it too after 2035 re-approve combustion engines, but only if they operated with CO₂-free fuels become. The EU was asked to be open to technology “and we are”. It is a clear indication to the states that had spoken out in favor of the use of e-fuels in the EU – including Germany, driven by the FDP’s blockade attitude.
For the EU Commission, it is ultimately about “that from 2035 only cars that no longer emit carbon dioxide may be built,” says Timmermans. And further: “If you say, with e-fuels we can build cars without CO2 emissions, then you have to try it.”
Under these circumstances, strictly speaking, there can no longer be any talk of a ban on combustion engines. The EU will “do not dictate how people have to live” said the Commission Vice-President. Only fossil fuels, which emit CO₂, should no longer be permitted for road traffic within the EU from 2035.
Return of the burners? Which still speaks against e-fuels
However, that does not mean that e-fuels will replace petrol and diesel in the future. Because the problem that Timmermans addresses only indirectly remains: E-fuels are much more expensive as electricity for e-cars or fossil fuels.
Anyone who pays attention to money when buying a car does not have an easy choice to make:
Profitable processes for producing synthetic fuels are still in their infancy. Electric cars are also far more efficient than combustion engines. In terms of sustainable use of resources, this should also play a role in the choice of drive. For e-fuels, too, it must also be ensured that the Fuels produced with green electricity become.
