Petrol cars and e-fuel better than electric cars? Scientists have a clear answer

Electric cars are better for the climate than vehicles with combustion engines – regardless of whether the required electricity is generated from fossil fuels or not. This is evident from a current study commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA). The research mainly cites the higher energy efficiency of electric cars as the reason

Electric cars are already considerably cleaner today

According to this research, battery-powered cars are already on average about 40 percent more climate-friendly than petrol or diesel vehicles. Even synthetic fuels (e-fuels) cannot keep up: their production is very energy-intensive and therefore less environmentally friendly.

Not only cars were examined, but also light commercial vehicles and trucks up to 40 tons. The result: Even in larger vehicles, electric drives have clear benefits for climate protection – even if these vehicles run on synthetic fuels. Several other studies previously came to the same conclusion.

The new study was carried out as part of a three-year large-scale project at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu) in Heidelberg.

“Battery production has become significantly more climate-friendly on average in recent years,” said research leader Kirsten Biemann to the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. Moreover, the ecological balance of batteries could be further improved, for example “by producing cells in Europe and using innovative cell technologies with higher energy densities”. Using old car batteries to store electricity in your home also improves your ecological balance.

The demand for combustion engines endangers the impact on the environment

However, the research also warns: if many cars with combustion engines continue to be sold, which will not be registered in the EU until 2035, CO2 savings from electric cars could be jeopardized.

What also plays a role in this consideration is that green synthetic fuels will probably remain scarce and expensive for a long time. According to Biemann, it would be more realistic to make the electricity mix CO2-free more quickly – from which electric cars would immediately benefit.

The research team also emphasizes that, in addition to expanding electromobility, avoiding traffic is also important for protecting the climate: every kilometer avoided protects the environment.

The chairman of the Federal Environment Agency, Dirk Messner, therefore calls for additional measures to promote electric cars: “In order to achieve the federal government’s target of 15 million electric cars in Germany by 2030, additional measures are needed in the short term .”

The careful use of resources and renewable energy sources is also crucial for the so-called powertrain transition: “Instead of increasingly larger and heavier cars, these should be significantly more efficient and resource-saving,” says Messner.