Zero-emission cars, the vote in the European Parliament rekindles the debate on e-fuels

On the eve of the plenary of the European Parliament which on 7 June will be called to vote on the ‘Fit for 55’ package of the EU Commission, which provides for the sale of new cars only with zero emissionsthe debate on e-fuels. These are synthetic fuels with less impact than traditional ones which, according to many, could prevent the banning of endothermic engines in 2035. However, the European environmental NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) does not think so, which on Tuesday presented an analysis from which it emerges that “ a hybrid car powered by e-fuels would produce a mere 5% less CO2 emissions in the its entire life cycle compared to a petrol car. ”

The study calculated the CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle of a car powered by synthetic fuels purchased in 2030 and – specifies T&E – for the comparative analysis ” a hybrid car was chosen because it is the one to which they correspond lower emissions over the entire life cycle, when synthetic fuels are used to power it ”. Transport & Environment states that this figure is based on the most realistic scenario, which involves mixing e-fuels with traditional fuels. And that it is the fuel industry itself that admits, in its own estimates, that in 2035 e-fuels could meet just 3% of the demand for road fuel in Europe (or 0.4% of the same in 2030, 16% in 2040 and 50% in 2050 according to the analysis of Concawe, a research center founded and financed by operators in the fossil sector).

Life cycle analysis takes into account emissions from material extraction, component manufacturing (including batteries), vehicle assembly, recycling and disposal. In the use phase, for cars with combustion engines, the direct exhaust emissions and those “upstream” of the fuel were counted. For electric cars, direct emissions from electricity generation and electrical infrastructure (e.g. the production of solar panels and wind turbines) were counted. For Veronica Aneris, director of T&E Italia, ” this analysis puts an end to the alleged viability of synthetic fuels for the decarbonisation of cars and vans. Battery electric vehicles are ready today, cheaper, more efficient and offer significantly greater CO2 savings, even when considering CO2 emissions over their entire life cycle. ”

However, it would be different if we consider a car powered solely by synthetic fuels produced using only renewable energy. In this case, according to the analysis of Transport & Environment, the car would produce 82% less CO2 emissions over its entire life cycle than a traditional petrol car, while remaining more impactful than a car. electric battery powered 100 percent with renewable energy, mainly due to the low efficiency associated with the production process of synthetic fuels. ” The hypothesis, however – underline the environmentalists of T&E – is little more than a theoretical exercise, given the scarce availability of e-fuels on the market ”. ” At a time when Europe must rapidly increase its renewable production capacity to decrease gas imports and move towards energy independence, we cannot afford – says Aneris – to waste large amounts of additional renewable energy just for please the oil industry. Synthetic fuels must be reserved for the decarbonisation of those sectors for which direct electrification is not viable, such as aviation and long-distance shipping. ”

T&E also highlights that the combustion of synthetic fuels – chemically similar to diesel and gasoline – continues to introduce toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere and that these fuels are characterized by significantly lower energy efficiency, high production costs and costs of considerably more exercise. Furthermore, according to an independent study – T&E always points out – choosing to power 10% of new cars with synthetic fuels, instead of electrifying them, would require 26% more electricity production from renewable sources in Europe.