EU Wants E-fuel Cars To Achieve Full Carbon Neutrality In Post-2035 Sales

The EU is poised to mandate that e-fuel-powered cars must achieve 100 per cent carbon neutrality to remain eligible for sale beyond 2035, as indicated in a draft document. This decision follows Germany's request for an exemption of e-fuel cars from the phase-out of new, environmentally harmful vehicles.

As outlined in a Reuters report, a forthcoming EU legal proposal outlines stringent criteria for e-fuel vehicles, necessitating their exclusive operation on completely CO2-neutral fuels. The proposal clarifies that e-fuels achieve carbon neutrality when they are produced using captured CO2 emissions, effectively offsetting the CO2 released during combustion in an engine.

In some other EU climate policies, the draft rules would be stricter than the low carbon fuel rules. For instance, countries can use certain fuels to meet EU renewable energy targets if they achieve 70 per cent emission saving, rather than 100 per cent. 

According to the industry group e-Fuel Alliance, if the draft plan included emissions from both the production of an e-fuel and other points along the value chain, it would effectively outlaw new internal combustion engines starting in 2035.

The draft rules would provide a legal framework for automakers to register new types of vehicles, such as combustion engine cars designed to run solely on carbon-neutral fuels.

The draft guidelines, which could change before they are published later this year, require such vehicles to be built so that the engine would not start if the vehicle is fueled with petrol that emits CO2. According to the document, manufacturers will need devices that track chemical properties of the fuel to enforce this. This, in turn, also demands for rules that makes sure these technologies cannot be interfered with.