Dissent Emerges in Europe over Unrealistic Political Favoritism Given to EVs, Hydrogen in Heavy-Duty Vehicle CO2 Standards

by Ron Kotrba (Biobased Diesel Daily) The European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association, representing 55-plus stakeholders from the EU waste-based and advanced biodiesel supply chain, noted in early February that it has become apparent that several member states including Germany are considering not supporting the deal struck during the first trilogue Jan. 18 (the revised CO2 Emissions Standards for Heavy Duty Vehicles legislative file), with a likely blocking minority for the file.

Like many other organizations, EWABA considers the role of renewable liquid fuels as essential for the future of heavy road transport under the revised CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

Angel Alvarez Alberdi, the secretary general of EWABA, added, “A combination of technologies will be needed to efficiently decarbonize the transport sector, and especially road heavy-duty vehicles. Sustainable biodiesel is the best available and cheapest fuel solution not requiring any notable infrastructure investments. It should therefore be encouraged for further use in higher blends to decarbonize the heavy-duty road sector.”

Germany-based Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e. V. (UFOP) noted Feb. 9 that the current hiccup over the vote to set stricter CO2 fleet limits for trucks and buses once again confirms the lack of coordination of a comprehensive strategy—not only at national but also at European level.

UFOP noted that “the vehicle industry itself has regrettably given up the fight for the combustion engine, which can be operated fossil-free with renewable fuels.”

“[UFOP] reminds us of the technological openness demanded by the vehicle industry in the past,” the organization stated. “The sudden cancelation of state funding for e-mobility—as much as 5.7 billion euros (USD$6.14 billion) in the period from July 2016 to June 2022—should be warning enough not to commit to one form of drive in the development and thus expected state funding.”

UFOP said it believes that the causes of “the current voting disaster in Brussels and Berlin are primarily to be found in the EU Parliament, where the mantra of e-mobility was discussed without taking into account the huge system costs for creating the infrastructure. Electricity prices are already too high and are likely to remain too high, especially if electricity has to be charged at public charging points. At the same time, the ramp up of capacity expansion for renewable electricity is lagging far behind the targets.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Bloomberg: German Finance Minister Christian Lindner is resurrecting the debate on the European Union’s decision to ban sales of new combustion engine cars in 2035, seeking more exceptions than the one granted for fuels made using renewable electricity and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere.

“We should go further and generally focus on technological openness,” Lindner told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “Synthetic liquid fuels and biofuels are also a way to be climate-friendly.”

The minister said the market rather than politicians should decide what is viable and what consumers want, and said the federal government would use tax policy to support biofuels as well as e-fuels.

EU officials in March of last year signed off on a deal that effectively ends the sale of most new combustion engines from 2035. The ban nearly fell through after Germany blocked it, but Europe’s economic powerhouse dropped its opposition after a deal was reached to allow cars running entirely on e-fuels to count toward the bloc’s zero climate targets. READ MORE

Excerpt from Wall Street Journal: Volkswagen had bet big on all-electric models such as the ID.4. Volkswagen’s suggestion that it might have to close a plant in Germany for the first time ever sets up a battle with its powerful union and highlights the mounting pressures on its namesake brand.

The carmaker’s bosses raised the prospect of a plant closure on Monday as it navigates an increasingly bumpy transition toward electric vehicles. The company said a “performance program” at its core Volkswagen brand that was agreed upon with union leaders last December would no longer be sufficient to hit profit targets, following a disappointing first half of the year. READ MORE