The European Union has validated the end of heat engines in new cars from 2035, a central measure of the climate plan of the 27. But it has also paved the way for vehicles running on synthetic fuels, a solution that is nevertheless contested.
“E-fuels”, “synthetic fuels”, “electro-fuels”… Under these names, the same technology that is making its way into European law. While the EU has forced new cars to be CO2-free by 2035, effectively banning petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles in favor of all-electric vehicles, Germany has secured an agreement to allow future vehicles running on synthetic fuels. While the text has remained unchanged, Brussels has thus undertaken to pave the way more clearly for these fuels in a separate proposal which will have to be validated by autumn 2024. This compromise has yet to be adopted. during a meeting of European energy ministers on Tuesday 28 March, the final stage of the legislative process. But what are these synthetic fuels? What do they allow and what are their limits? Franceinfo describes this disputed solution to you.
They are made from CO2 and low carbon electricity
These fuels are “products without petroleum or biomass, but from CO2 and low carbon electricity”, presents the Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) in a note. They are made after “an electrolysis of water to produce low-carbon hydrogen, which is then combined with CO2 (…) to produce a fuel”. A CO2 which would come from emissions from industrial activities such as cement factories or steelworks, quotes the CEA, or from capture in the atmosphere.
E-fuels are therefore intended to be low in carbon emissions, which are responsible for climate change. A real challenge when transport accounts for nearly 30% of CO2 emissions in the European Union – “of which 72% comes from road transport”notes the Parliament – and that Europe has set itself a target of carbon neutrality in 2050. “E-fuels are characterized by a reduced carbon footprint over their entire manufacturing cycle by at least 70% compared to petroleum fuels”adds the CEA in this context.
This technology is still non-existent
“With e-fuels, vehicles and plants can be used in a climate-neutral way worldwide now and in the future”promises the E-fuel Alliance (link in English) bringing together the players who rely on this technology. Today ? Not quite. This solution is in fact not complete and the projects are only at the development stage. The newspaper Les Echos (paid item) cite for example the “commissioning, in December 2022, [d’une] pilot plant in Chile”.
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I’European organization bringing together NGOs in the field of transport and the environment Transport & Environment even alerted (link in English), in October 2022, on the fact that“there will only be enough synthetic fuels to power around 2% of all cars on European roads by now” to 2035. Worrying, while the IPCC recalled the urgency of acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the decade 2020-2030 being crucial. “Refuge in techno-solutionism is a lazy way of reassuring oneself by saying: ‘The engineers will solve the problem'”warned the engineer and essayist Philippe Bihouix to franceinfo.
This solution is driven by luxury (and for luxury)
Behind the investments for the development of this technology, “the luxury sports car specialists Ferrari and Porsche”report The echoes. The daily quotes the manufacturer Ferrari: e-fuel “would allow us to reduce emissions while continuing to use internal combustion engines and thus preserve our technological heritage”.
But, in the opinion of many experts, synthetic fuels have little chance of establishing themselves on the market and would only concern a minority of luxury vehicles. The industry has already invested heavily in electric vehicles. Even if they prove their worth, synthetic fuels, which do not exist today, “will not play an important medium-term role in the passenger car segment”, said Markus Duesmann, head of Audi (Volkswagen group) recently. Due to their cost, they will only make sense for a few luxury cars “like Porsche 911s or Ferraris”added Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, an expert from the Center Automotive Research in Germany.
If they are therefore difficult to envisage on a large scale for private vehicles, other sectors could be interested. “In particular long-distance transport, aviation or maritime, which must carry fuels with very high energy density”explains to Liberation (paid item) Thibault Cantat, research director at the CEA.
These fuels come with many risks
Synthetic fuels are also strongly contested by environmental NGOs, who consider this technology expensive, energy-intensive and polluting. Polluting in the face of electricity, while Transport & Environment estimates that electric vehicles will emit 53% less CO2 than engines powered by synthetic fuels. The organization adds “that a car burning synthetic fuels emits as much NOx [oxydes d’azote] toxic than burning fossil fuels”.
Also expensive fuels: “A liter of e-fuel would cost up to 7 euros today” and could stay “around 1 to 3 euros by 2050”note The echoes. Prices well above current fuels, while the E-fuel Alliance promises to “reducing CO2 emissions decisively and affordably”.
Energetics, finally, while they “will make strong demands on the production of low-carbon electricity for the production of hydrogen or the direct electro-reduction of CO2”. Experts therefore fear conflicts over the use of electricity from renewables or nuclear, key elements in the decarbonisation of our uses. “In Europe, e-fuels for cars would suck up the renewable electricity needed by the rest of the economy”warns analyst for Transport & Environment Yoann Gimbert.