EU was amidst passing the law that would ban the sales of new fossil-fuel-powered combustion engine vehicles after 2035 in a bid to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. However, Germany and Italy have raised objections to this law by urging the EU to exempt e-fuels from this ban. This includes e-fuels like e-hydrogen, e-methane, e-methanol or e-diesel. If that were to happen, we will still be able to experience the throaty growl from the legendary Ferrari engines post-2035.
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Carbon Neutral E-Fuels
E-fuels are developed using carbon (airborne or from biomass) and synthesizing it with green hydrogen (produced from renewable sources). These could be e-hydrogen, e-methane or e-diesel. The aim of these fuels is to make the entire combustion process carbon neutral by emitting as much (ideally less) CO2 as used in the production of the fuel at the beginning. Therefore, at least in theory, a carbon-neutral vehicle is obtained without going electric or significantly changing the engines.
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Which Carmakers are in Favour?
Porsche has already invested heavily in this technology which is being developed by a wind-powered plant in Chile. It has used this fuel in one of its petrol-powered 911 sports cars to demonstrate the application. This company is backed by Porsche and produced 550 million litres per year already since 2021. Another company is Norsk e-Fuel from Norway which is set to commence production in 2024.
Lamborghini has also supported the use of synthetic fuels as one way to keep the performance and sound of a combustion engine alive, which is a major reason why people opt for Lambos in the first place. Automobile ancillaries like Bosch, ZF and Mahle are already members of the eFuel Alliance, which is an industry lobby group. BMW has invested US$12.5 million in e-fuel startup Prometheus Fuels.
Ferrari has already announced that it aims to electrify 80% of its portfolio by 2030 but this technology and amendment in the law could make them explore some new avenues. Talking at the Reuters Newsmaker event, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said, “The good news for us as a company … is that on top of electric cars, we’ll also be able to go on with our internal combustion engines ones.” He adds, “We don’t want to tell clients which car to use. We want to make three kinds of propulsion available for them — hybrid, electric and ICE — and they will choose.”
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EU Ban 2035
Initially, all stakeholders had agreed to this ban by the EU on the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered ICE vehicles after 2035. However, the recent objections from major economies like Germany and Italy have raised concerns regarding this ban. But it must be mentioned that the ban may still be valid with an exemption for e-fuels. That is being contemplated upon and might soon be brought in with proper guidelines and policies.
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