Il heat engine it will continue to be used as long as it comes powered by synthetic fuel with zero impact instead of traditional fuel.
Germany e XNUMX-XNUMX business days have reached theagreement on the use of e-fuel to power the heat engines even after the transition of 2035. The agreement was announced by the Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans: “We have reached an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels. We will now work to get CO2 standards adopted for car regulation as soon as possible.” Satisfied the German Government: “The path is clear, we want the process to be completed by autumn 2024”. Tomorrow in Brussels the Coreper ambassadors will discuss the package while on Tuesday the EU ministers will vote in the Energy Council to definitively stop heat engines from 2035.
Big disappointment instead for theItaly who comes out defeated by the story. In fact, the Commission did not take into consideration the derogation from biofuels as, instead, Italy asked. Criticisms also from environmentalists who consider the choice of synthetic fuel a "compromise that undermines climate protection in transport and harms Europe".
Italy: no to biofuel unreasonable choice of the EU
Europe's rejection of the use of biofuels has aroused the ire of the Italian government. "L'EU does not prove unreasonable” were the words of the Minister of the Environment, Piquet Fratin. A few days ago, just to avoid this choice, three ministers of the Italian government (Salvini, Urso and Pichetto Fratin) had written to the Vice President Timmermans asking for do not exclude biofuels from the decision, highlighting how it was also necessary "to respect the principle of technological neutrality to guarantee an economically sustainable and socially equitable transition towards zero-emission mobility".
The Meloni government does not give up and will try again put biofuels in the package. “From politics to diplomacy, without any useless showdown. In these hours, Italy is committed to providing all the useful elements to make the European Union understand, in a scientifically and rationally impeccable way, the importance of include biofuels among green fuels. We hope that Europe does not prove unreasonable and deaf to the calls that come from a founding country, committed to achieving, even in advance, the objectives that will lead Europe to be an energy-neutral continent by 2050", he declared in a note the Minister of the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin.
The EU decision, if confirmed, leaves Italy behind on the choice of fuel. There Germany and the Nordic countries have long since started specific projects for the use of synthetic fuel while Italy had staked everything on bio-fuel. Yet the costs at the moment are not comparable: today a liter of e-fuel can exceed 10 euros per liter while HVOlution, the first diesel produced with 100% renewable and waste raw materials, produced by Eni has a cost of 1,910 euros per litre.
What are e-fuels and biofuels
Il synthetic fuel (e-fuel) and the biofuel they are both used for internal combustion engines but have two different origins.
THEe fuel (short for electrofuel) is a synthetic fuel, liquid or gaseous. It is produced through a process of electrolysis of water by breaking down its basic elements, hydrogen and oxygen, fusing the latter with the carbon dioxide present in the air. The subsequent mixing of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and some catalysing substances makes it possible to get e-methanol which in turn, thanks to a series of procedures, can be transformed into e-kerosene suitable for refueling aircraft and in e-fuel for internal combustion engines. The process, however, requires large quantities of water and energy which must be produced from renewable sources. However, not a 100% climate-neutral choice.
Il biofuel is obtained from the products of biomass, i.e. from the waste of organic matter generated by plants and animals. The waste comes from the agri-food industry, from agricultural and forestry activities and from organic waste from cities. Through a fermentation process of these scraps we obtain the bioethanol which serves as fuel. There is also another type of bio-fuel, the biodiesel, which is produced via a chemical process in which animal fat, recycled cooking fat or vegetable oil is reacted with an alcohol such as methanol in the presence of a catalyst which accelerates its action. HVOlution, Eni's biofuel, is produced from waste raw materials and plant residues, and from oils generated from crops that do not compete with the food supply chain. Since March, biodiesel has been available in 50 Eni service stations and 150 points of sale in Italy.
