EU environment ministers allow e-fuels to be used
Does environmentally friendly gasoline maintain combustion engines?
The environment ministers of the 23 EU countries cannot impose an absolute ban on combustion engines. As of 2035, only new, climate-neutral cars should be sold. This leaves the tailgate open for e-fuel.
Published: 06/29/2022 at 11:04 am
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Updated: 2:48 PM
The difference in wording is subtle but crucial. Three weeks ago, the EU Commission decided that from 2035 new cars with internal combustion engines may not be sold in the EU. However, environment ministers in the 27 member states now want to sell only climate-neutral vehicles from 2035 onwards.
This is not an outright ban on internal combustion engines, as advocated by the authority. This defusing was preceded by a controversial 16-hour debate. Only the German government agreed until yesterday evening. Above all, the FDP in Germany was against the absolute ban on combustion engines and pushed through a change of direction by the federal government.
The use of industrial fuels should be allowed
Accordingly, at yesterday’s meeting of environment ministers, Germany called that combustion cars could also be approved after 2035. Driving with so-called electronic fuel. It is a synthetic fuel in which hydrogen and carbon dioxide converted from renewable green electricity are used. With the support of other countries, Germany was able to move forward with this compromise.
What is e-fuel?
E-fuel is a liquid synthetic fuel that can be burned like fossil fuels in internal combustion engines. It’s made of water and carbon dioxide: using renewable electricity, the water is broken down into its components, oxygen and hydrogen. The latter then reacts with carbon dioxide extracted from the surrounding air to form a hydrocarbon similar to benzene. Thus, e-fuel is a way to store natural electricity in liquid form.
E-fuel does not reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but uses existing carbon dioxide, and is therefore considered climate neutral. E-fuel can be processed into kerosene for air travel or as raw materials for chemical industries, thus reducing fossil fuel consumption there. But: energy is lost with each conversion step; This makes e-fuels more energy inefficient than direct use of natural electricity in e-cars, for example.
E-fuel is a liquid synthetic fuel that can be burned like fossil fuels in internal combustion engines. They are made of water and carbon dioxide: using renewable electricity, the water is broken down into its components, oxygen and hydrogen. The latter then reacts with carbon dioxide extracted from the surrounding air to form a hydrocarbon similar to benzene. Thus, e-fuel is a way to store natural electricity in liquid form.
E-fuel does not reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but uses existing carbon dioxide, and is therefore considered climate neutral. E-fuel can be processed into kerosene for air travel or as raw materials for chemical industries, thus reducing fossil fuel consumption there. But: energy is lost with each conversion step; This makes e-fuels more energy inefficient than direct use of natural electricity in e-cars, for example.
But this does not save the internal combustion engine in Europe. The European Parliament supports a ban from 2035. Parliament and EU countries must negotiate the next step and agree on a common position. The main question here is whether Parliament will recognize synthetic fuels as CO2 neutral. Like the European Commission, EU member states have also spoken out in favor of lowering the fleet limit to 0 grams of CO2 per kilometer starting in 2035. Combustion engines can only do so if the e-fuel is recognized as CO2 neutral.
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