Report: EU Might Allow Sales of New E-Fuel ICE Vehicles After 2035

Following the delay on the 2035 ICE ban vote, the European Union (EU) might finally succumb to the pressure mounted by the Germany-led alliance that comprised at least seven countries to oppose and alter the bill. 

As reported by Reuters, the EU is finally ready to draft plans, allowing the sales of new ICE vehicles in the continent, provided that they are exclusively powered by e-fuels.

This new proposal will see a brand-new type of vehicle category in the EU for vehicles that runs exclusively on carbon neutral fuels. This, in turn, will allow automakers to keep producing fossil-powered vehicles in the future, beyond the proposed 2035 ICE sales ban deadline.

After several months of negotiation, the EU was finally ready to pass the 2035 ICE ban bill, only to be delayed by Germany’s eleventh-hour objections to the law, days before the penultimate voting took place. Following this, Germany then forged an alliance with several other nations including Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Romania and Hungary, with respective countries’ transport ministers recently held a meeting to discuss further on this objection.

One spokesperson from the alliance has spoken to Reuters on this matter, saying that they are now in contact with the European Commission to try and reach a win-win solution in allowing the sales of e-fuel-powered vehicles to continue once the 2035 ICE ban takes place.

"We are interested in a quick clarification, but it must be resilient and binding. We are currently examining this carefully," the spokesperson said.

Porsche e-Fuel Plant in Punta Arenas, Chile

Led by German transport minister Volker Wissing, the alliance commented that the direct approach planned by the EU to outright ban ICE vehicles seems wrong, citing that there’s a “climate-neutral way” for fossil-powered vehicles to run. Evidently, several automakers including Porsche have taken progressive steps in further developing and testing the synthetic e-fuel technology, with the German marque already commencing its e-fuel production in Chile after investing over US$75 million in a synthetic fuel holding company last year.

The European Union climate policy chief Frans Timmermans

Both the Commission and the opposing alliance are currently trying to reach an agreement by the next EU’s summit. Prior to this, the EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans had initially said to member states that any proposal pertaining to e-fuel-powered vehicles would not come forward until after the bloc passes the bill.

Although there are several breakthroughs on the e-fuel technology, the production level of this supposedly carbon neutral fuel is far from reaching the standard scale to make it affordable and accessible for the masses. One study conducted by Potsdam Institute for Climate Research concluded that all planned e-fuel projects worldwide would have only produced enough fuel reserves to power a mere 10% of Germany's fossil fuel demand in the next few years.