Will Germany leave Italy behind on biofuels?
The European Commission and Germany appear close to an agreement on e-fuels. Italy does not want to end up on the sidelines, and is pushing for the inclusion of biofuels among neutral fuels. Sergio Giraldo's analysis
Italy would not accept "an unduly narrow interpretation of the concept of CO2-neutral fuels" which provides for the exclusion of biofuels by the European Commission. This is what we read in a letter sent by the Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, by the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, to the Vice President of the European Commission, l 'Dutch Frans Timmermans. The reference is to the provision approved by the European Parliament regarding the ban on diesel and petrol engines from 2035.
THE LETTER OF THE MINISTERS
"Italy is fully committed to the decarbonisation of the transport sector", the three ministers recall in the letter, who then underline "the need to respect the principle of technological neutrality".
Italy and Germany, continues the letter, have pushed for the inclusion of Recital 11 in the new regulation precisely to allow the registration of cars with internal combustion engines even after 2035. The cited Recital, we recall, states that " […] the Commission will present a proposal for the post-2035 registration of vehicles running exclusively on CO2-neutral fuels ”. Thanks to this inclusion, Italy has not opposed the general structure of the measure.
BIOFUELS LIKE E-FUEL
Halfway through the letter, here's the crux of the matter: "CO2-neutral fuels means, for us, gaseous or liquid renewable fuels, including biofuels and e-fuels." The Italian government therefore expressly equates the two types of fuel and requests that Recital 11 be implemented “before the 2026 revision, proposing a legally binding act. A commitment in this sense by the Commission, with an indication of a timetable, would be greatly appreciated and would allow the dossier to be concluded positively”.
In conclusion, the three ministers state, as already reported, that "in any case, Italy would not accept an unduly narrow interpretation of the concept of CO2-neutral fuels which would include only e-fuels and not biofuels".
WHAT GERMANY WANTS
Very important statement, especially in the light of a letter sent by the head of the cabinet of the German transport ministry to the staff of European Commissioner Timmermans. In the letter, the Berlin official outlined a path to get to understand the e-fuels, which the Germans claim , within the Euro 6 classification, without calling into question the main text already approved by the European Parliament. However, this layout appears to be designed exclusively for e-fuels (obtained from the production of hydrogen with renewable energy associated with a chemical process), while it seems to exclude biofuels (deriving instead from vegetables, biomass or processing residues), despite both being neutral point of view of CO2 emissions. The separate negotiation between the German government and the Commission therefore seemed to put Italy in the minority on biofuels in the new post-2035 classification.
The letter from the three Italian ministers, extremely timely, now contributes to clarity, not only because it equates e-fuel and biofuels but also because it puts the Commission in formal notice by explicitly requesting a legally binding act.
THE COMMISSION'S BRAINY PROPOSAL
The Italian stance promptly broke the idyll between Germany and the Commission, which took concrete form in a draft solution that has been circulating in recent days, almost simultaneously with the diffusion of the Italian letter. In the proposal by the Commission, after 2035 cars with internal combustion engines can be registered "only if powered by CO2-neutral e-fuels". There is therefore no mention of biofuels. A new category of e-fuel vehicle would be created, just as suggested in last week's German letter.
The novelty contained in the Commission's proposal, however, is nothing short of amazing: the new vehicles admitted must have engines capable of recognizing whether the fuel used contains CO2 or not. The bizarre request of the Commission, which evidently wants to have the last word on everything, did not please the Germans. However, the conviction that a compromise will soon be reached emerges from Berlin. However, the Italian letter, as it is written, could break this balance and force the Commission to explicitly include biofuels among the permitted fuels. We will see if the government of Giorgia Meloni will be able to keep the point, which would give a theoretical possibility of survival to at least a part of the Italian automotive industry.
ELECTRIFICATION, MEANWHILE, ADVANCES
Meanwhile, Tesla has announced the results of February sales in the European Union: 19,249 vehicles (there were 12,860 in February 2022, +50%) with a market share of 19.8% among electric vehicles and 2.4% of the total market european car. The electrification of transport is advancing.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/italia-biocarburanti-lettera-urso-pichetto-salvini/ on Thu, 23 Mar 2023 06:52:29 +0000.