At the end of June 2022, the EU's environment ministers made a difficult decision, which caused a lot of headaches and head shaking in the automotive industry. It heralded the end of the combustion engine - with far-reaching consequences for car manufacturers, automotive suppliers, but also for the aftermarket and, last but not least, for vehicle workshops. But there was good news to follow - for e-fuels at least - and thus also for the combustion engine.
The hammer fell after 16 hours of negotiations: The EU's environment ministers presented a momentous decision: From 2035 onwards, only climate-neutral new vehicles are to be sold. The 'de facto end' of the combustion engine. Or is it...?
Will e-fuels save the combustion engine?
After all, many experts protested against it - once again - and demanded more openness in the technology. With success, at least in Germany and at least for climate-neutral synthetic fuels with the melodic term 'e-fuels': Particularly the FDP party had significant concerns in agreeing to the end of the combustion engine and called for new combustion engine vehicle registrations to remain possible after 2035, providing that they run on e-fuels. The result: In their coalition agreement, SPD, Grüne and FDP agreed that, despite a planned ban on new registrations for combustion engines from 2035 onwards, the government wants to continue supporting e-fuels.
Why could e-fuels be so important for drivers and industry? The answer is obvious: The mechanical drive train, which is completely omitted in pure electric vehicles, would be retained. With far-reaching consequences: The significant loss of jobs in the automotive industry - at least in Germany - could at least be partially avoided. Vehicle workshops would also welcome retaining the mechanical drive train. After all, the work volumes and therefore sales volumes for electric cars are lower in service. With e-fuels, companies would at least be able to compensate for the loss of income in part.
For Porsche, an emotional combustion sound remains an existential element
Synthetic fuels are not yet suitable for mass use and are outshone by electric vehicles when it comes to efficiency and CO2 footprint. But industry seems to be intensifying research efforts again. For example at Porsche: Although the sports car builder is also focusing on electric models and aims to equip 80% of its cars with an electric drive by 2030, the company still believes "in the triad of classic combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles such as the Taycan", as Porsche Development Director Michael Steiner recently confirmed. And of course Porsche wants to continue to offer an emotional combustion engine sound, especially in the 911.
Porsche is therefore building a plant for manufacturing e-fuels in Chile together with Siemens Energy: "A pilot plant is being built in Patagonien, which is to generate around 130,000 litres of e-fuels this year," reports the Association of German Engineers (VDI) on its website. And: "The plans are ambitious. The capacity is to be expanded in two stages to around 55 million litres by 2024 and around 550 million litres by 2026.
New e-fuel project by the ZDK and the ADAC
The Federation of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK), the ADAC and the German Association for Medium-sized Mineral Oil Companies (UNITI) are currently working on another exciting project. In the "E-Fuels for Future" joint project, a technically unmodified used Golf VII is filled with e-fuels and put through its paces. In an exhaust test in the ADAC Technical Centre in Landsberg, the emission and consumption values of the Golf with e-fuel and fossil fuel are also determined and compared.
"We need to be open to technology and face the new challenges of mobility. E-fuels play an important part in this", explains Federal Guild Master Detlef Peter Grün. "In addition to electric mobility, e-fuels are an excellent opportunity to reduce CO₂ emissions in road traffic," adds Werner Steber, ZDK Managing Director of Workshops and Technology. The project aims to show that the use of synthetic fuels in cars is easily possible with no negative effects on driving or engine performance.
The combustion engine could therefore remain with us in the long term. Thanks to e-fuels.
