Petrol and diesel cars, stopped by 2035: Germany uses e-fuels to avoid blocking them

The niet of Germany, Italy and other countries to ban petrol and diesel cars from 2035wanted by the European Commission, and blocked in the final vote of the States, has led to a negotiation between Berlin and Brussels on the role of synthetic fuels. He brings it back The sun 24 hoursaccording to which Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Transport Minister Volker Wissing they would have shown optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement with the commission, after meeting on 5 March President Ursula von der Leyenon the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.

Dialogue became necessary after that Germany and other countries, including Italyhad expressed their dissent on the stop to the sale of new combustion vehicles since January 1, 2035, a measure approved by the European Parliament last February. A no that constitutes for the Commission a major obstacle: with Germany’s abstention, the law would have become serious risk of being rejected. For this reason, the vote in the European Council was postponed from 7 March date to be set.

Meanwhile the dialogue between Germany and the commission And “on the right track”, according to Minister Wissing, who assures that the search for a solution is being worked on and “it will continue – explains Scholz – to work in the next few days”. The German government has asked the European executive to put forward a proposal on the future of e-fuel powered carsmaking the most of the technology currently available to allow the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines even after 2035.

The request appears to have been welcomed by President von der Leyenwhich pushes to find “a quick agreement, in balance between climate policy goals And openness to technology”. As a demonstration of this desire, you wanted to meet Scholz at Meseberg Castlenear Berlin in Brandenburg, where the German government was assembled.

What are e-fuels

E-fuels are zero emission fuels and, in the Berlin goal, they could guarantee at the same time a future for the production of internal combustion vehicles And compliance with the parameters that Europe has identified with a view to achieving the carbon neutrality by 2050.

Their operation is based in fact on the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygenwhich can also occur through the use of energy obtained from renewable sources. The hydrogen obtained from this process is then mixed with carbon dioxide captured by the atmosphere.