The European Union means petrol and diesel cars from 2035. Even plug-in hybrids, methane or LPG. For now it is only one proposal contained within “Fit for 55“, The climate reform package designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. The restrictions affect all production sectors but the world of four wheels will have to face, if the proposal passes, a radical change. To make the transition to using exclusively “zero emission” cars possible, the European Union will ask member states to upgrade the charging network and install refueling points at regular intervals on the main motorways: every 60 kilometers for electric and every 150 kilometers for hydrogen. A situation today “science fiction”.
A social climate fund
The goal will be achieved gradually and will be accompanied by the creation of a new CO2 market for road transport and buildings. The proceeds will end up in a social climate fund, with an estimated value of 70 billion over 7 years, with which the EU could co-finance national incentive schemes for the purchase of zero-emission cars and the energy requalification of buildings at 50%. “The principle is simple: CO2 emissions must have a price; a price on CO2 that incentives consumers, producers and innovators to choose neutral technologies, to move towards clean and sustainable products “, said the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The Executive Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said that if we don’t act now, “we would fail with our children and grandchildren, who in my opinion, if we don’t solve it, will fight wars over water and food.”
Almost all electric by 2050
To ensure that drivers are able to recharge or refuel their vehicles on a reliable network across Europe, the updated EU regulation on alternative fuels infrastructure will require member states to expand charging capacity in line with car sales. zero emissions and to install recharging and refueling points at regular intervals on the main motorways: every 60 kilometers for electric recharging and every 150 kilometers for hydrogen refueling. By 2050, the Commission indicates, nearly all cars and vans on the road will need to be zero-emission vehicles. It is based on the fact that the “used” sector will gradually bring out of the market cars with combustion engines. For Brussels, CO2 emissions standards for cars and vans are key factors in reducing CO2 emissions in the road transport sector. In 2020, despite the global new car market contracting due to the pandemic, the total number of electric cars registered tripled, reaching over 1 million a year for the first time. More and more affordable electric car models are coming to the market. As the supply of zero-emission car models increases, they should become even more affordable. This increasing market share coincides with the gradual introduction of stricter Co2 emission standards for cars from 1 January 2020. The Brussels proposal is to further strengthen the current rules.
Reduction of emissions
The fleet of newly registered cars must reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and by 100% by 2035 compared to 2021. For new vans, the reduction targets are 50% and 100% respectively. With these objectives, Brussels hopes to force production and consumption towards the diffusion of a significantly greater number of zero-emission vehicles on the Union market. Therefore, the regulatory incentive mechanism for zero- and low-emission vehicles, the aim of which is to support rapid market uptake, would no longer serve its original purpose and will be removed from 2030. All car and van manufacturers will have to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, so the exemption for small-volume manufacturers – those who sell between 1,000 and 10,000 new cars or 22,000 new vans in a calendar year – is removed starting in 2030.
The importance of the infrastructure
The Commission’s impact assessment shows that also thanks to fuel savings, zero-emission cars bring benefits to all income brackets, including and especially low-income households for whom the cost of fuel is a monthly household cost. relatively high. If this is the picture, it is clear that a key role in determining the success of the entire operation lies in the availability of the electric charging infrastructure, the realization of which must accelerate in a manner commensurate with the fleet of electric vehicles foreseen on the roads, which within 2030 is expected to reach at least 30 million cars. The fleet-based targets will ensure that for every battery electric car registered in a Member State a charging capacity of 1 KW is installed. This should also be in line with previous infrastructure targets set in the Commission’s Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy, as it is expected to provide more than 1 million charging points by 2025 and around 3.5 million by 2030.
The charging network
In detail, to ensure full connectivity through the European motorway network, it will be necessary to install at least 300 kW of capacity provided by fast charging points (with at least one with a capacity of 150 kW) for each 60 km stretch of the network within the 2025 and a capacity of 600 kW by 2030. On the global network (TEN-T) these targets must be achieved by 2030 and 2035 respectively. For the refueling of hydrogen, a refueling station must be available every 150 km along the network TEN-T central and in each urban hub that will serve both light vehicles, including cars, and heavy vehicles.
Charging points every 60 km
For electric heavy vehicles, charging points along the core network must be provided every 60 km, power of at least 1400 kW must be supplied by 2025 and 3500 kW by 2030. On the global motorway network, it must be ensured at a charging point every 100 km respectively by 2030 and 2035. Similarly, recharging points must be provided in safe and secure car parks and in major cities and agglomerations on the European trans-European transport network (urban nodes) to allow in particular the recharging of trucks for urban deliveries. Gaps in LNG fueling infrastructure for trucks will be closed until 2025.
The Commission indicates that, while CO2 emissions standards have brought new and cleaner cars onto the market, “it remains important to decarbonise the transport fuels that serve the existing fleet”. Hence the proposal to create a new EU-wide emissions trading system for the fuel supply industry, which will set a price on carbon emissions from road transport and heating. fuels. This system will not apply at the level of the individual transport user, but at the level of the fuel supplier as the entity that has control over the fossil carbon content of the fuel.
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