The example of the Cayenne is particularly salient here, because it is high-end automakers, in particular Porsche and Ferrari, who are trying to have e-fuels enshrined in the European Union’s plans for the future.Critics argue that the enormous amount of energy that goes into producing e-fuels, as well as the need to import it from abroad, makes them prohibitively expensive for everyday drivers.
Their treatment as a viable alternative to electric vehicles, and their inclusion in European legislation, could ultimately derail the continent’s. By relaxing the continent’s transportation rules, e-fuels could ultimately end up prolonging the amount of time that oil is used to help power Europe’s fleet.
All for a technology that pollutes more than electric vehicles, even in ideal circumstances. While e-fuels do save emissions, as compared to traditional gas and diesel, their use in internal combustion engines still leads to the creation of CO2 and other carcinogenic particles, such as NO2. “Ultimately, e-fuels will be no more than a niche solution for Porsche drivers,” said Alex Keynes, clean vehicles manager at Transport & Environment. “But by undermining the clarity of the engine phase-out for the sake of an expensive and polluting fuel, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz is risking Europe’s green transition and the future of its car industry.”