Combustion engines before the end: Minister of Transport destroys last hope

Created: 01/14/2022, 10:12 am

By: Marcus Efler

Synthetic fuels, so-called e-fuels, are considered an alternative to electric drives.

That's why the federal government considers them unsuitable for cars.

Berlin – After the coalition negotiations for the traffic light government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP, the matter seemed clear to many experts and commentators: the traffic turnaround was canceled for the time being.

First, the Greens renounced a general speed limit on German autobahns, and then, to the dismay of many of their voters, the Ministry of Transport.

The FDP took over, whose boss, Finance Minister Christian Lindner (43), is a self-confessed Porsche fan and 911 driver.

(Porsche is working on fake sound: This is how electric models should soon sound “emotional”)

Combustion engines before the end: Minister of Transport destroys last hope

But fans of combustion cars are now finding out that in a democratically elected government it is not necessarily the personal preferences of cabinet members that become politics: Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (51) relies on electric cars - and in an interview gave synthetic fuels a clear rebuff, like 24auto .de* reports.

(Electric cars more climate-friendly than combustion engines? Study now contradicts skeptics)

Now an electric fan: Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing.

(Iconic image) © Christophe Gateau/dpa

Combustion engines on the verge of extinction: not enough e-fuels for cars

These e-fuels can be burned in a climate-neutral manner and are considered the last hope for classic car drives with fuel.

Porsche is researching its development so that its core model, the 911, can continue to be operated with the popular boxer engine.

But such cases, if they occur at all, are likely to remain the exception.

"In the foreseeable future, however, we will not have enough e-fuels to operate the cars with combustion engines that are now registered," Wissing explained to the Berlin "Tagesspiegel".

(Combustion engine ban worldwide – important countries not included)

Combustion engines on the verge of extinction: the decision for e-mobility was "made a long time ago"

You have to use the various energy sources where they are most efficient, and "in the case of a car, that's the electric drive," says Volker Wissing.

E-fuels will be needed primarily for air transport.

In the election campaign, the FDP had still promoted climate-neutral fuel as an alternative to electric cars, now the transport minister said: "If you look at the EU regulation, you can see that the decision in favor of e-mobility was made long ago".

He was referring to the EU Commission's planned ban on internal combustion engines from 2035.