German firm to sue EU over ban on polluting cars

Lühmann Gruppe, a German company that sells synthetic greener E-fuels as an alternative to electric vehicles, plans to take legal action against the European Union's 2035 ban on internal combustion engine cars, a German newspaper reported Saturday.

Lühmann boss Lorenz Kiene told Welt am Sonntag that the company plans to challenge parts of the EU regulation at the European level.

It sounds "nice to only permit emission-free cars," Kiene told the newspaper, but added that the plan is "driven by ideology, not facts."

The EU passed the measure in March as part of the energy transition to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and meet climate change goals.

The rule stipulates that newly registered cars must be emission-free by 2035.

Are e-fuels considered emission-free?

E-fuels do emit carbon dioxide when burned during driving but give an overall lower carbon footprint than regular fuels as they are produced using wind, solar and nuclear energy sources.

Under the EU's plans for 2035, E-fuels won't be classed as emission-free as they still emit exhaust gases.

"It makes no sense to measure emissions only at the tailpipe," Kiene told Welt am Sonntag. "You should record CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle of a vehicle."

Kiene said carmakers like BMW and Volkswagen will only build such vehicles if the EU measure is amended to include e-fuels.

As well as Lühmann Gruppe, Porsche and Audi have announced investments in e-fuels over the past three years.

Widespread e-fuel rollout 'unrealistic' 

Scientists only agree with Kiene up to a point as e-fuels are likely to be only used by high-end car manufacturers.

"E-fuels that are produced entirely with green electricity can have just as low emissions as electric cars," Falko Ueckerdt, a senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told the newspaper.

However, he said talk of the widespread rollout of e-fuels is "unrealistic and would delay the necessary transformation toward electric cars." 

Germany has said it wants to rely on e-fuels to make combustion engine vehicles more green. 

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has long opposed the EU plans and called for "legally binding" commitments to allow new vehicles powered by e-fuels to be put on sale after 2035.

However, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is still working on the revisions.

The German government has also been lobbying to incorporate the use of e-fuels into the new Euro 7 emissions standard.

Euro 7, is due to replace Euro 6 —  the current EU emissions standard — with tougher regulations. It will also contain standards on battery durability for electric vehicles.

The European Council, currently under Spain's presidency, will hold a vote on Euro 7 on Monday and, according to reports, e-fuels are not included in the draft text.

With material from AFP news agency