At a glance: In the debate surrounding the EU compromise to end the sale of fossil combustion cars from 2035, there are often calls for "technological openness". E-fuels are an alternative to switching to e-cars.
It is true that e-fuels (and hydrogen) are of central importance for achieving the climate targets. In some areas - such as aviation or shipping - they are indispensable, e.g. because electrification is not completely possible. Their production must therefore be promoted and driven forward. However, e-fuels are not a solution for car transportation: they come too late, in too small quantities and are very expensive. Their low efficiency and high resource requirements are too bad for the environment. Even in optimistic scenarios, they are only sufficient for a small residual stock of combustion cars. Therefore, the electrification of cars and the modal shift must be accelerated even further so that e-fuels can play the intended role in climate protection.
E-fuels (and their precursor hydrogen) are central to the decarbonization of Germany in all major climate protection scenarios. The demand for hydrogen itself is estimated at 215 to 459 TWh for the year 2045, depending on the scenario, and comes primarily from industry and the energy sector. The demand for e-fuels and other synthetic fuels and heating fuels (power-to-liquid and power-to-gas) for 2045 is 116 to 305 TWh. They are primarily used for production processes in industry, as fuel in transportation (especially aviation and shipping) and partly also as heating fuel in the building sector.
