European Commission reaches agreement with Germany on e-fuels

The European Commission has reached an agreement with Germany on the ban on cars with a combustion engine. By 2035, cars with such an engine may also be sold in the EU, provided that they can only use CO2-neutral fuels.

Since the beginning of March, Germany has blocked the bill that would ensure that cars with combustion engines can no longer be sold in the EU from 2035. The German governing party FDP did not agree at the time and wanted the sale of cars that could run on synthetic CO2-neutral fuels to remain possible. These fuels are also sometimes referred to as e-fuels. The European Commission promised to check whether these fuels were in line with the climate objectives, but did not want to guarantee anything at the time. So that has now changed.

According to Volker Wissing, the German Transport Minister, thanks to this decision the European Union remains ‘technology neutral’ and important options are kept open when it comes to climate neutral and affordable mobility. The ban on cars with a combustion engine had already been approved by the European Parliament in October of last year and had to be given the green light by the European Commission and the European Council in early March.

The ban on cars with a combustion engine is part of the European Green Deal. That is a package of European measures which should ensure that the European Union emits a net 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to zero percent.