Published on March 6th, 2023 | by Sounder Rajen

EU Postpones ICE Ban Vote Due To Job loss Concerns

Germany points out that the ICE ban may cost the EU heavily

So by now we all should be aware that the European Union (EU), except for the United Kingdom as it removed itself from the EU through Brexit a while ago, have voted and passed a law that would ban the sales of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the EU BY 2035.

However, while we all assumed that this was already set and ready to go, Germany has given this storyline a sudden plot twist. Yes, in Episode 3 of season 2 of “When electric vehicles (EVs) attack,” Germany wants to minimize job losses and get assurances that e-fuels can be used in combustion-engine cars after the 2035 cut-off.

Moreover, the EU was also concerned that Germany would abstain from the vote which would derail the entire plan the EU has. So, the EU has delayed the vote banning ICE vehicles. I personally think this is a good idea as many e-fuel uses are still untested and unknown so learning more first can’t hurt.

The reason Germany is concerned that the vote would cause job losses and cause companies to incur too much cost is because Ford recently announced it was cutting about 3,200 jobs across Europe, with workers in Germany and the UK expected to suffer the most losses, which we covered here.

On top of that, another reason Germany is hesitant to accept the ICE Ban is because carving out legislation for e-fuels does not address job reductions in vehicle production. This gives no guarantees for any person or group of people working in the automotive industry.

What’s more, the current definition of e-fuels could be interpreted to include fossil fuels that are refined using renewable electricity, not just fuels produced from bio or synthetic sources since synthetic fuels are currently more expensive to produce compared to traditional fuels.

As a result, many people, including the automotive community in Germany, doubt that e-fuels offer a viable solution or should be part of a comprehensive transportation strategy. They believe exceptions for fossil fuels and e-fuels should be limited to aviation and shipping, which are more difficult to decarbonize.

Now, EU officials are optimistic that a compromise can be reached soon, and at the moment, EU and German officials are looking at options to allow the use of e-fuels after 2035, and I certainly hope that both parties do reach a middle ground sooner rather than later as I am excited to see what the future of fuel looks like.