The European ban on selling new polluting cars and vans from 2035 is in the air. The countries of the European Union have postponed the vote initially scheduled for next March 7 on the historic law that will only allow copies to be sold without emissions. The reason for this postponement is that Germany has changed its mind and has blocked the ratification of the agreement that the European Parliament approved on February 14.
This script modification is given because Germany requires greater guarantees so that from 2035 they can continue to manufacture internal combustion vehicles powered, yes, with emission-neutral ecological fuels. These types of non-polluting cars could be an alternative to electric ones and, for this reason, the German Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, this week urged the European Commission to present a proposal to make it so.
Although most manufacturers are focusing on electric mobility (some have even announced that they will stop selling diesel and gasoline cars even before their ban), some brands, such as Porsche, are betting on biofuels. Its intention is that, despite the entry into force of the new regulations in twelve years, it can continue to offer its customers cars powered by internal combustion engines, in addition to the electric vehicles that it has already been incorporating into its catalogue.
As explained by Xavier Giménez, professor of Environmental Chemistry at the UB, it is "a fuel that is not natural, that is, it is not extracted from the natural oil well, but is obtained from a chemical transformation process, which is made industrially with two raw materials: water and CO2”.
Repsol is one of the companies working in this line. As the company explains, in its preparation it uses electricity from renewable sources that, through an electrolysis process, separates the oxygen and hydrogen particles from the water, giving rise to the so-called renewable hydrogen. On the other hand, CO₂ is captured from the air or from an industrial facility. And finally, in a plant for the production of synthetic fuels, renewable hydrogen and CO₂ are used to manufacture synthetic fuels with zero net emissions.
It is a process similar to photosynthesis, says the professor. “Plants make sugar from CO2, water and light; in this case, with CO2, water and energy we obtain hydrocarbons, which are synthetic fuels”.
This methodology is beneficial for the environment because it performs a neutral process. In other words, by transforming carbon dioxide into fuel, even if it is later re-emitted into the atmosphere, the result will be a zero balance, because no more CO2 will be expelled than there was previously. However, Giménez remarks that it does not reduce it either.
From Repsol they point out that among the main advantages that characterize these fuels, their efficiency stands out, since by having physicochemical properties similar to current fuels, it makes them compatible with current vehicles, also allowing them to take advantage of existing infrastructure. Likewise, it is important to highlight that they are sustainable, since they use alternative and renewable raw materials for their manufacture, and that they are strategic because they contribute to the process of progressive decarbonization of transport and aviation, among others.
It is still not 100% efficient, but the big drawback is that both the CO2 capture process and the production of synthetic fuels are expensive. In fact, the vice president of the European Commission for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, admitted on his day that zero-emission synthetic fuels "so far do not seem very realistic because they seem prohibitive in terms of costs."
The Commission, which defines itself as "technologically neutral", does not enter into determining the type of propulsion system that vehicles must equip in order not to pollute, but the current development of technology suggests that the fleet will be dominated by electric vehicles battery or hydrogen fuel cell, displacing the combustion engine.
In addition to Germany, Italy has positioned itself against the agreed European legislative text, despite the fact that in a previous vote it had ruled in favor, questioning the fact that electricity is prioritized to drive cars and other alternatives that, in their opinion, are not considered , could achieve the same goal, as biofuels. The Law, however, could in principle go ahead with the vote against Italy - as well as Poland and Bulgaria, which are also opposed - as long as Germany voted in favor.
