A fight is brewing in the European Parliament over the future of internal combustion engines. While some believe that e-fuels should be exempt from the coming ban on CO2 emitting vehicles, critics argue that their energy intensive production could make them more expensive and more detrimental than they are useful to the environment.
A recent study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) suggests that e-fuels could cost up to €2.80 per liter, or the equivalent of $11.52 USD per gallon at current exchange rates.
That’s roughly 50 percent more expensive than the price of gasoline in Germany today, reports Transport & Environment. That would mean that it would cost consumers €210 ($228 USD) to fill a 75-liter (20-gallon) tank, such as the one in a Porsche Cayenne.
The example of the Cayenne is particularly salient here, because it is high-end automakers, in particular Porsche and Ferrari, who are trying to have e-fuels enshrined in the European Union’s plans for the future.
Read: EU Drafts Plan To Let ICE Cars Use E-Fuels After 2035
Critics argue that the enormous amount of energy that goes into producing e-fuels, as well as the need to import it from abroad, makes them prohibitively expensive for everyday drivers. Meaning, they would likely only be helpful for rich people who want to continue driving performance cars.
That undermines one of the proposed benefits of e-fuels: decarbonizing the existing fleet of internal combustion vehicles. If the technology were used as a stop gap, it could help lower the emissions of the vehicles that are already on the road, and which will continue to be used for a number of years after the EU’s new rules are introduced.
Their treatment as a viable alternative to electric vehicles, and their inclusion in European legislation, could ultimately derail the continent’s environmental goals. By relaxing the continent’s transportation rules, e-fuels could ultimately end up prolonging the amount of time that oil is used to help power Europe’s fleet.
All for a technology that pollutes more than electric vehicles, even in ideal circumstances. While e-fuels do save emissions, as compared to traditional gas and diesel, their use in internal combustion engines still leads to the creation of CO2 and other carcinogenic particles, such as NO2.
“Ultimately, e-fuels will be no more than a niche solution for Porsche drivers,” said Alex Keynes, clean vehicles manager at Transport & Environment. “But by undermining the clarity of the engine phase-out for the sake of an expensive and polluting fuel, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz is risking Europe’s green transition and the future of its car industry.”
