TURIN. The announcement on Twitter by the Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans – “we have reached an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars” – is seen as an important signal by Marco Stella, vice-president and president of the components group of the ‘Anfia, the national association of the automotive industry. “Now, however, Italy makes its voice heard also with regard to the use of bio fuels”.
Does the Berlin-EU agreement on e-fuels reopen the game also for the area on which Italy has focused, which aims to have biofuels exempted from the stop too?
«We have been calling for a plurality of technologies to manage this electric transition for a very long time. The fact that the European Commission has expressed its willingness to get its hands on the legislative text is certainly a step forward. The road is the right one. It is important for Italy to insist on the issue of biofuels, also because we have an industrial system that has done an important job on this front. After the opening up on e-fuels it is unthinkable that Europe does not also take biofuels into consideration».
However, after this ad hoc agreement which sees Germany as the protagonist, the European hierarchies are even clearer.
«We are all trying to find solutions that allow us to move towards a decarbonised automotive sector. However, it is necessary to act with realism, a trend that has been lacking up to now. Finally this ideological wall is crumbling. Assuming that we all want the good of the environment, we need to find more technologies that help us find a solution. I repeat: in this context, wanting to exclude the Italian proposal on biofuels seems absurd to us».
E-fuels, what they are and how they are produced and why Italy focuses instead on biofuels
How is the Italian government behaving?
«In recent times, Italy’s role has been guessed. But now is not the time to give up, we must bring home the same result also for bio fuels».
But we were excluded from the negotiation, doesn’t this reduce us?
«Germany has a different weight, they make more than 3.5 million vehicles a year and it is the most important automotive country in Europe. But the fact that in the last period there has been an alignment between the Italian and German governments is a very important signal».