Why do Germany, Italy and luxury car manufacturers want eFuel?

The directive on zero emissions from vehicles was blocked in Brussels due to unexpected opposition from Germany, which led a group of countries, including Italy, which opposed the text. The reform, which envisages stopping the sale of new cars and non-ecological vehicles from 2035, was agreed between the Council and the EU Parliament last year and only awaits the official approval of the two institutions. But at the last second, Berlin and Rome asked for an exemption for biofuels and e-Fuels; these synthetic fuels are virtually unknown to most on the continent and very little is produced, but they have become the center of the emissions debate in Europe.

‘neutral’ fuels

e-Fuels, or electrofuels, are created through a complex chemical process using electricity to combine hydrogen molecules from water with carbon from CO2 to create a liquid fuel that works in existing engines like regular fuel. To produce it, CO2 is used “captured” in the atmosphere or from factories and as such this fuel has neutral emissions in the sense that it does not create new emissions, but “recycles” what has already been produced. In short, it is not completely green, but still environmentally better than conventional fuels. The Fischer-Tropsch process, which is still the basis of e-fuels to this day, was invented in Germany in 1925. The method allowed the oil-hungry German military to create substitute liquid fuels during World War II. Today, it may allow traditional cars, especially luxury ones, to continue to exist.

However, there is an ongoing debate on the road to zero emissions and whether to focus on eFuel for sustainable mobility. “Germany only seems to be fighting to save the combustion engine, because Berlin is blocking such an important directive for fuel that is not even produced in sufficient quantity to meet the demands of the automotive market. The German directive is only a Solution on paper but not in reality”, he told Today.it Geert Decock, the energy and electricity sector manager of Transport & Environment (T&E), the European federation of associations operating in the field of green transport.

Reduced production

According to the federation’s analysis, the expected volume of e-fuels to be available in 2035 could power just five million vehicles out of a projected fleet of 287 million in the EU. A study published by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research found that all the world’s planned manufacturing plant projects could only generate enough eFuel to meet 10 percent of Germany’s demand for aviation e-fuels, shipping and chemicals.

few plants

According to the eFuel Alliance, there are currently 12 factories in the EU producing these fuels: two in Spain, one in France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and five in Germany. There are also at least two more factories under construction. French energy company Engie and US start-up Infinium have formed a partnership to create a Europe-wide industrial hub for synthetic electro-fuel production in Dunkirk, northern France, using carbon dioxide emissions produced by steel company ArcelorMittal. It should be operational in 2026. Nordic Electrofuel will build a power generation plant in Porsgrunn, Norway, which should be operational by 2024. Initial production capacity will be 8,000 tons per year, and then it will be increased to over 800 thousand tons by 2032. .

However, both projects aim to support the air and sea transport sector. “The eFuel industry caters to these sectors because it makes sense and is economically viable there, because airplanes and ships cannot be powered by electricity like cars, and if we want to move towards abandoning e-Fuel, they need alternative fuels for that, and therefore it would be very expensive for drivers as well,” Decock explains, according to an analysis by Transport & Environment, using the eFuel, which can hypothetically be sold at a regular petrol pump, would cost the driver 10,000 euros more in five years than driving a battery-powered electric car.

electrical breakthrough

While these fuels could save conventional cars, the auto industry isn’t putting too much pressure on the eFuel, at least in a compact way. Some of the main manufacturers, especially the French, have been turning to electric car production for a while. Two years ago, Emmanuel Macron unveiled a €30 billion plan to reverse years of industrial decline in the EU’s second largest economy, called France 2030, which also includes €4 billion for the transport sector to support electric vehicles. Renault is one of the European companies that is betting the most on the green milestone of the automotive industry and expects that by 2030, 90% of its sales will consist of battery-powered models, at least half from Volkswagen, 30% from Toyota, Stellantis. 70% in Europe and 40% in America. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that Paris is among the capitals most angry about blocking the zero-emissions directive since 2035.

Luxury cars want eFuel

On the other hand, the two pioneers of the companies of the two nations who are happy with the war of Berlin and Rome: Porsche and Ferrari, which are among the companies that lobby the most for the eFuel exemption. For the German and Italian luxury cars of the future, the superior power of liquid fuels compared to the lithium-ion batteries of electric vehicles means they can continue to produce sports cars with roaring engines. And no matter the cost of eFuel to the driver, it certainly won’t be a big deal for a Ferrari owner. And so, while much of the automotive industry is investing in an electric breakthrough, Porsche, with no intention of making its 911 environmentally friendly, invested in the construction of a factory for eFuel production in Chile. company’s predictions The company is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 55 million liters by 2025, and 550 million liters two years later.