On November 21, 2023, the plenary vote for CO2 emission requirements for heavy-duty autos (HDVs) will happen within the European Parliament. Rising proof about potential uncooked supplies shortages, inadequate battery manufacturing capability within the EU, elevated restore prices for BEVs, along with massive infrastructure and grid wants reinforce the decision to vote for a technology-inclusive strategy, to make sure that the decarbonization of HDVs might be achieved throughout the proposed timeframe by increasing expertise choices for compliance, for the advantage of local weather, safety of provide, transport worth chain and customers.
In the present day the resilience and adaptability of European logistics relies on liquid fuels
Heavy-duty transport is an important sector for the functioning of the EU inside market, however at present it is usually chargeable for simply over 1 / 4 of the greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions from street transport, and for about 6 p.c of the EU’s complete GHG emissions.
In the present day, the overwhelming majority of vans bought have an ICE utilizing liquid fuels. Out of the overall fleet of over 6 million heavy-duty autos for transport of products within the EU, about 2 million autos are used within the long-haul transport items (40-76 tons). Applied sciences for battery-electric and fuel-cells vans are creating quick and have a giant decarbonization potential. However at current, there’s solely a tiny fraction (< 1 p.c) of electrical or fuel-cell vans in operation worldwide, usually in pilot applications. These routes would require growth of a complete new ecosystem for vans and vitality provide, and distribution. Extrapolating at present’s very early progress to legislate the long-term unique resolution creates massive pointless dangers for European industries and provide chains. As a substitute, all choices that may have a speedy impression must be equally supported.
CO2-neutral fuels might velocity up the decarbonization of professional quality transport
Nonfossil liquid fuels are progressively changing fossil fuels, and the tempo will rely upon whether or not there’s a long-term position in street transport. Due to this fact, transport operators and automobile producers must be inspired and allowed to make use of ‘CO2-neutral fuels’ (liquid and gaseous biofuels, and artificial fuels) to hurry up this transformation. Relying on use instances, expertise variety is required, together with electrification/hybridization, hydrogen, and sustainable and renewable fuels.
CO2-neutral fuels are complementary to electrification to hurry up emission reductions.
A Carbon Correction Issue (CCF) is just not a measure to cut back the extent of ambition, it might allow the other
The faster option to abate GHG emissions from street transport is to switch fossil-based gasoline as quick as doable, therefore the necessity to create a enterprise case for the upscale of the manufacturing of CO2-neutral fuels to decarbonize each the present and the upcoming fleet. CO2-neutral fuels are complementary to electrification to hurry up emission reductions.
The faster option to abate GHG emissions from street transport is to switch fossil-based gasoline as quick as doable
The CCF is a technique that corrects the ‘tailpipe’ strategy, by making an allowance for the contribution of CO2-neutral fuels for compliance with the HDV CO2 requirements. As a place to begin, the RED obliges gasoline suppliers to ship a share of 29 p.c of renewable vitality within the transport sector, which is able to ship a discount of GHG emissions of not less than 14.5 p.c by 2030. ETS 2 will additional restrict CO2 emissions from transport. Each will not be acknowledged within the CO2 requirements for autos. However recognizing a route the place vans may very well be equipped with excessive or 100% ranges of CO2-neutral fuels might develop renewables provide quicker by incentivizing funding in sustainable/superior bio and artificial gasoline applied sciences.
There’s sufficient biomass in Europe
The examine by Imperial School London consultants for Concawe reveals that biomass is just not scarce. The potential availability of sustainable biomass is greater than ample to permit superior and waste-based biofuel to contribute along with different options. With no hurt to biodiversity, it’s doable to help a complicated and waste-based biofuel manufacturing within the EU of as much as 97 Million tonnes of oil equal in 2030 and as much as 175 Mtoe in 2050.
Laws must be primarily based on sound science and a good evaluation of all choices
The present HDV CO2 requirements regulation relies on a pure ‘tank-to-wheel’ strategy, so solely the automobile emissions at time and place of use are counted. This methodology, a relic of gasoline financial system measurement, grew to become an effectivity measurement, however is scientifically unsuitable for measuring the general impression of the selection of car and vitality at present. For an EV truck, this methodology has no affect on the effectivity, weight, aerodynamics or vitality carbon depth utilized by the truck. No matter any of those necessary components, good or unhealthy, the truck will get a ‘zero’. In the meantime all biogenic or captured carbon is handled as fossil emission. That is scientifically fallacious and contradicts the methodology utilized in different CO2regulations, corresponding to ETS.
Automobile CO2 regulation urgently wants a revised methodology.
From a local weather perspective, it doesn’t matter whether or not GHGs are emitted throughout the manufacturing of the automobile or of the vitality provider, or on the tailpipe
A scientific life-cycle evaluation of the totally different expertise and vitality choices reveals that in actuality there isn’t a zero-emission automobile, and electrical vans and ICEs powered with CO2–impartial fuels can definitely match electrified or fuel-cells autos for the decarbonization of transport. Automobile CO2 regulation urgently wants a revised methodology.
The Concawe comparator developed by IFPEN to evaluate the life-cycle GHG emissions from HDVs in real-world situations, reveals that when evaluating a plug-in hybrid ICE truck, fueled with CO2-neutral fuels, with a battery electrical truck the CO2emissions performances of the totally different powertrains are very comparable, and in some instances the hybrid expertise performs even higher. Renewable fuels are as efficient as electromobility for abating GHG emissions.
Automobile Regulation that acknowledges renewable fuels will help funding and higher vitality resilience in Europe
Correct recognition of CO2-neutral fuels might velocity up the decarbonization of professional quality transport. MEPs could make a forward-looking choice for HDVs by supporting a coherent and RED-compliant definition of CO2-neutral fuels and the CCF methodology. The arbitrary exclusion of competing technical options might lead to an inefficient decarbonization course of with elevated threat to resilience of Europe’s logistics and to progress towards decarbonization objectives.