STOCKHOLM, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Germany has asked the European Union to propose rules to allow combustion engine cars running on CO2-neutral fuels to be sold in Europe after 2035, when the EU has agreed that all new cars should have zero emissions.
Under the landmark law agreed by the EU last year that requires car manufacturers to achieve a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars sold by 2035, it would be impossible to sell new vehicles powered by fossil fuels in the bloc of 27 countries.
The law aims to speed up Europe’s switch to electric vehicles to combat climate change. But Germany is seeking leeway for combustion engines that run on electricity-produced fuels or e-fuels.
“The commission should come up with a proposal on how e-fuels can be used or how combustion engines running on climate-neutral fuels can be arranged,” Germany’s state secretary for transport, Michael Theurer, said on Monday.
Speaking on his arrival at a meeting of EU transport and energy ministers in Stockholm, Theurer said Germany was convinced battery electric vehicles were the “way forward” but wanted other technologies to be supported as well. free of CO2.
“We need hydrogen [fuel cell] technology and also e-fuels, especially in heavy vehicles, in trucking,” he said.
E-fuels, which can be made using captured CO2 emissions, with the idea that this balances the CO2 emitted when the fuel is burned, so that the overall fuel is “CO2 neutral” – are being developed to allow the modified versions of combustion engines continue to be used.
Germany is home to car-making giants such as Volkswagen, which has pledged to produce only electric cars in Europe from 2033, and BMW, which has warned against setting dates to ban the sale of cars based on fossil fuels.
The EU law containing the 2035 deadline says the European Commission should make a proposal on how vehicles running on CO2-neutral fuels can be sold after 2035, if that meets climate targets.
EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean said many in the transport sector shared Germany’s concerns. “I think the discussion is not closed, even though a vote has been taken,” he said at a press conference. (Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Leslie Adler)
