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“Burning for new cars in the EU!” That was the headline at Blick on February 14, 2023. At that time, the EU Parliament approved a ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035. 340 deputies voted in favor of the ban, 279 against – 21 abstained. For the regulation to come into effect, the final step would only be the approval of individual EU states – a formality in fact. But since last Friday, it has become clear: the vote, scheduled for Tuesday, March 7, on the general ban on new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035, must be postponed indefinitely.
Controversial topic e-fuels
Germany is responsible for this, namely the German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (52), who, together with the FDP party, insists that internal combustion engine vehicles can be registered after 2035 if it can be proven that they run on so-called e-power. fuels. In very simple terms, these synthetic fuels are created as: Water, i.e. H.2It breaks down into hydrogen with large amounts of green electricity. with carbon dioxide CO2It is converted into artificially produced crude oil, which has previously been removed from the atmosphere, which can then be converted into kerosene, diesel or petroleum in the next step. From a balance sheet perspective, e-fuels are CO2-neutral – no matter how much later burned in the engine of a car, ship or plane (also interesting: 7 questions and answers about e-fuels).
Good reasons against e-fuels
Volker Wissing’s openness to technology actually seems plausible. But experts are pessimistic about the widespread use of e-fuels as fuel for individual mobility in the medium term: On the one hand, production is extremely energy-intensive and requires large amounts of green energy, which is necessary for successful energy. The transition is constantly growing. Additionally, in the foreseeable future there will be too few factories to meet the needs of millions or even billions of cars for e-fuel production.
If e-fuels are used, then in areas of the transport industry that are not as easily electrified as cars – airplanes and ships, for example. Apart from the fact that internal combustion engines have a relatively low efficiency of 30 to 40 percent, this means that most of the energy used is converted mostly into heat, not motion at all.
“Federal government as unity of chaos”
Wissing is blocking a bill that is nearing approval by requiring the EU Commission to submit a proposal for the use of synthetic fuels in internal combustion engines after 2035. To the annoyance of German lawmakers like Michael Bloss of the Greens: “The postponement of the vote on the exit from the combustion engine today is a disgrace for Germany, both at the EU level and worldwide. We are creating chaos, we are completely destroying ourselves,” Bloss told the German Press Agency on Friday. “We’re making it incredible and we’re putting the brakes on climate protection.”
Even politically like-minded colleagues like Jens Gieseke, the CDU/CSU’s transport policy spokesperson, do not believe that Wissing can enable the FDP’s position in the federal government to win a majority, commenting: “The federal government is showing itself as a unit of chaos in Brussels. “
blocked in Italy
The fact that the final vote had to be postponed is also due to the attitude of other EU countries, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Italy, which apparently do not want to accept the plans. For example, the Italians2-Reduce emissions from new cars with combustion engines by only 90 percent from 2035, instead of the 100 percent required by the EU. Italian Economy Minister Adolfo Urso (65), in a speech to the “Corriere della Sera” newspaper, said that the times and paths drawn by Europe for his country do not coincide with the realities in Europe and especially in Italy.
Adoption of the combustion engine ban from 2035 will require the approval of 15 of the 27 EU member states, which make up at least 65 percent of the total EU population. This obstacle could not have been overcome without the approval of Germany. A spokesperson for the EU Commission said Friday that they will now take a closer look at exactly what is being asked of them. How much will it take? Unknown.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
