Combustion engine phase-out + Lithium converter + Charging stations • Europe.Table

Industry reacts cautiously to e-fuel compromise
Ahead of the CRMA: Europe’s first lithium converter
Charging stations: trilogue agreement on AFIR
Berlin and The Hague want to cooperate on hydrogen
BASF chief criticizes declining EU competitiveness
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict comes to a head
Europol warns against misuse of ChatGPT
Tobias Schmid – guardian of the democratic media landscape

Dear reader,

One of the major contentious issues should actually disappear from the agenda today: The Council of Ministers will, in all likelihood, vote in favor of phasing out internal combustion engines by 2035 – including the FDP compromise on e-fuels. But there is skepticism among the industry and suppliers – mostly about the low binding nature of the agreement, reports Markus Grabitz.

Groundbreaking in Brandenburg: Europe’s first lithium converter is being built in Guben by the German-Canadian company Rock Tech. The project was unveiled yesterday. It is a prime example of what the EU wants to achieve with its Critical Raw Materials Act before it has even come into force, analyzes Leonie Düngefeld.

Things are also moving in the field of hydrogen. The Netherlands and Germany want to cooperate more closely in this field. For example, through Dutch participation in the German H2Gobal procurement initiative and new pipelines such as the Delta Rhine Corridor to North Rhine-Westphalia. You can read about when this is to get underway and what else has been discussed in our News. Just like the details of the trilogue agreement for the expansion of the European charging infrastructure for EVs. At just before 2 a.m., negotiators from the EU Parliament, Council and Commission reached a compromise on the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation – AFIR for short.

Your
Alina Leimbach

Feature

Industry reacts cautiously to e-fuel compromise

The Council of Ministers is expected to give the final green light today for the trilogue result on the combustion engine phase-out and CO2 fleet limits. In the industry, the reaction to the e-fuels deal is restrained: Manufacturers and suppliers complain that although there is a political agreement, much remains unclear in terms of legislation.

By
Markus Grabitz

Today’s meeting of energy ministers is expected to clear the way for the phasing out of internal combustion engines in 2035. Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Economic Affairs, is expected to be instrumental in confirming the trilogue result on CO2 fleet legislation with the vote of the German government. A test vote at the ambassador level on Monday indicated that a qualified majority in the state chamber for the legislation is likely following the e-fuels agreement between the Commission and the FDP. Poland and Italy, as well as other Eastern European countries, nevertheless plan to continue voting no.

On the part of the industry, the compromise is being commented on cautiously. VDA head Hildegard Müller welcomes the agreement but also said: “The final details of the agreement still need to be assessed”. Ralf Diemer of the e-fuel Alliance let skepticism seep through as to whether, against the backdrop of the Commission’s previous rejection of the technology, the implementation of the e-fuel strategy is in the right hands there. “We can only hope that the right decisions will now be made promptly to create planning and investment security”. Benjamin Krieger of Clepa, the umbrella organization for suppliers, is also cautious: “It now very much depends on the design. But the rules now announced for renewable fuels in road transport can become a positive signal for more technology freedom“.

Saudi Aramco sees door for investment

While manufacturers and suppliers were reticent to make official statements, the world’s largest oil production company was pleased. Matthias Braun of the Saudi Aramco Research Center said, “the e-fuels compromise opens a door for the industry: it makes the industrial production of synthetic fuels for use in new cars interesting for investors”. The Saudi-based company is currently building two demonstration factories for the production of e-fuels in Bilbao and in Saudi Arabia, and is providing synthetic fuels for rally competitions and road races. The company has also announced plans to make industrial-scale e-fuels available at filling stations from 2030.

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