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Will the promise of CO2-neutral e-fuels hold?
When German transport minister Volker Wissing made a last-minute intervention earlier this year to stop the phase-out of internal combustion engines for cars, he argued that the potential of e-fuels as an alternative to electric mobility for climate-neutral road transport shouldn’t be excluded.
His party, the free-market FDP, is convinced that the state shouldn’t be the one to decide which technology to use, rather keeping all options open and allowing the market to figure it out.
“Even after 2035, vehicles must be allowed to be registered that run on #eFuels in a climate-neutral way. More openness, fewer unnecessary bans,” Wissing posted on X (formerly Twitter) in February.
Wissing effectively blocked the adoption of the EU’s CO2 standards for cars and vans at the last second, until he received a written commitment from the European Commission that they will permit a new category of e-fuelled combustion engine cars.
In what was then seen as a win for the FDP, the Commission vowed to present a new category of “e-fuel only” cars (as an implementing regulation to EURO 6, which governs car pollution standards) and later propose how those can be incorporated into the CO2 standards for cars and vans law (via a delegated act).
However, the presentation of this new category is taking longer than expected, largely due to an internal dispute within the Commission itself.
DG GROW, the department led by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton – himself a sceptic of the combustion engine phase-out – wants the e-fuels used in the new car category to save 70% of CO2 as compared to fossil fuels.
This, DG GROW argues, is based on the definition of “renewable fuels of non-biological origin” (RFNBOs) – a broader category that includes both liquid e-fuels and gaseous hydrogen – which is set in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
DG CLIMA, however, the department that used to be led by Frans Timmermans and is currently in a bit of a political vacuum, takes the agreement by its word. And there, the phrase “CO2 neutral” made it into the famous recital clause No. 11.
“Following consultation with stakeholders, the Commission will make a proposal for registering after 2035 vehicles running exclusively on CO2 neutral fuels in conformity with Union law, outside the scope of the fleet standards, and in conformity with the Union’s climate-neutrality objective,” the clause reads.
How did it end up there? Essentially, it is the translation of a formulation in the German coalition treaty. The Green party, realising they had no other choice than to give in to Wissing’s demand, translated it word for word into the new regulation’s recitals.
But “CO2 neutral” is not the same as a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Granted, electric vehicles (EVs) are not strictly carbon neutral either. EVs are only CO2 neutral when it comes to tailpipe emissions (which they don’t have) and so far no law requires them to run exclusively with carbon-neutral electricity.
Therefore, according to Wissing, we shouldn’t nitpick.
“It makes no sense to say: ‘I don’t want 70%, so I’ll take zero CO2 reduction’,” Wissing told journalists on Monday (4 September) when asked about the dispute. “That is not logical.”
Wissing also said he was advocating “for a practical solution”.
“And this cannot be 100% [emissions reduction],” he added, taking up the argument by e-fuel advocates who argue that obliging e-fuels to be 100% CO2 neutral – while not doing so for the electricity used in electric cars – is unfair and so far not feasible.
While there is an argument to be made, at some point, what is written into law should also have a meaning. And what is written in the recital clause is “CO2 neutral”. This is what German coalition partners, EU countries, and ultimately EU legislators agreed upon.
And crucially, the alternative is not zero CO2 reduction. It is to take the minister (and the recital clause) at their word and to only continue to allow cars with internal combustion engines if they run on “CO2 neutral” e-fuels.
If the industry cannot live up to producing them, the future would have to be fully electric – because the promise of e-fuels to run “climate neutral” (see the minister’s tweet) does not hold.
– Jonathan Packroff
Bron: https://www.euractiv.com/section/transport/news/will-the-promise-of-co2-neutral-e-fuels-hold/
