The European Parliament has set a date, the year 2035, for the ban on the sale and manufacture of diesel or gasoline cars, with the aim of curbing global warming and minimizing as much as possible the consequences of climate change.
An “electrification” of Europe that poses significant challenges both for administrations and for vehicle manufacturers and energy companies themselves.
Although the process by which traditional combustion engines will be vetoed will not be immediate and, in addition to the plug-in electric car, other alternative fuels that are neutral in CO2 emissions are being contemplated. Starting in 2025, the car park will gradually be adapted so that, progressively, the most polluting cars are replaced by theoretically efficient ones.
The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (Acea) has defended that despite the fact that the automotive industry is undergoing changes to decarbonize and offer carbon-neutral mobility solutions in the European Union, the internal combustion engine will continue to be a solution for mobility “for many years”.
network capacity
One of the main arguments put forward against the commercial ban on thermal engines is whether current electricity grids will be able to support a fleet of millions of electric vehicles charging at the same time.
However, the adoption of these vehicles will not be immediate, as May López, spokesperson for Companies for Sustainable Mobility, recalls. Brussels contemplates the sale of thermal engines for 12 more years, and its circulation, at least, for 27 years. During this time, the capacity of the networks and, especially, the origin of energy will be developed.
For example, photovoltaic self-consumption in Spain has been growing by more than 100% year-on-year over the last two years, in line with the objectives of the European Commission, which aims to double the share of renewable energies, up to 40% in 2030.
The electricity distributors are not concerned and affirm that “there is sufficient capacity”, and that the development of the autonomy of zero emissions will allow vacation trips to be made with a single charge and refill at destination. At the end of 2022, Europe had 377,000 public charging points, “less than half of what is necessary at this point”, in the words of MEP Ismail Ertug, responsible for the Charging Infrastructure Regulation.
Chinese dependency
European manufacturers find themselves heavily dependent on China for the supply of the necessary batteries, although according to T&E, Europe could stop relying on China for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries by 2027. According to the report “A European Response to US Inflation Reduction Act» the EU is in a position to produce enough lithium-ion cells to fully meet domestic demand for electric vehicles and energy storage. For Carlos Rico, Head of Policy at T&E Spain, “Currently, half of the battery cells in the EU are manufactured on European territory.” But environmentalists also warn that “Europe will need to put more money on the table if it doesn’t want to risk the US taking over the battery factories and the expected jobs.”
tax collection
The tax on hydrocarbons is a considerable source of income for the budget of each member country, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels means giving it up.
In 2021 – the latest annual data published – in Spain 11,492 million were collected this way, 5.1% of the total, 223,385 million. This amount is close to Spain’s annual contribution to the EU for that year, which amounted to 16,543 million.
Trying to recover these amounts in another way, taxing, for example, the use of electricity for recharging “would be counterproductive for the adoption of zero-emission mobility.” This is revealed by sources from the European Parliament, who maintain that “there is nothing planned at the community level” in this regard.
battery recycling
EU officials hope that the problem of battery recycling will be solved with different legislations -such as the renewable energy directive and the new regulation on batteries- that ensure that the production process is neutral in terms of CO2 emissions, that It does not have an adverse effect on the environment and that we recycle batteries. There is also a lot of work going on in battery innovation, and not just for cars.
Spain is also taking the first steps in this direction. Thus, the El Bayo Industrial Estate, in Cubillos del Sil (León), is the site of Novoltio, the company that will build and carry out the activity of the first electric vehicle battery recycling plant in the Iberian Peninsula together with Endesa and Sertego. This new facility, in the construction of which 14 million euros will be invested, forms part of Endesa’s Futur-e plan, which aims to generate new industrial economic activity in El Bierzo, a region to which the company is closely linked due to its activity with the thermal plant that was in Cubillos del Sil and is currently being dismantled.
This facility, which will occupy a surface area of 15,000 square metres, will make it possible to identify those batteries that still have additional use, to which it will be possible to give a second life, and for the rest, a process of extraction of the elements that make up, valuing about 90% of all.
The future of diesel and gasoline
The new rules do not mean that all cars on the road have to be CO2 zero emissions by 2035. These rules do not affect existing cars. According to Dutch MEP Jan Huitema “if you buy a new car now, you can drive it until the end of its useful life. But, as the average life of a car is 15 years, we need to start in 2035 for all cars to reach CO2 climate neutrality by 2050.”
The parliamentarian explains that it will also continue to be possible to buy and sell second-hand cars with a gasoline or diesel engine after 2035, and obtain fuel for them “however, the total cost of ownership (cost of fuel, maintenance, purchase and insurance) could increase.”
Emissions neutral
For Europe to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, radical change will be necessary in a number of areas. The way of moving is one of them. Road transport is currently responsible for around 20% of Europe’s CO2 emissions.
The text approved by the European Parliament clarifies that from 2035, all new cars that come onto the market will not be able to emit any CO2. In this way, it is intended that by 2050 the transport sector will be carbon neutral. This means that the circulation of electric cars, hydrogen, fuel cell, and making room for other types of mechanics with ecological fuels will be allowed.
car price
Electric cars are expensive. For example, currently the offer in Spain starts at around 19,994 euros for an Invicta brand twin model, with 49 CV of power, or from 20,555 for a 45 CV Dacia Spring and four seats. The new regulations should encourage greater competition and encourage manufacturers to invest in research and innovation in electric vehicles, which should lower the purchase price.
Jan Huitema MEP explains that it will be more profitable to use electric vehicles, as electricity prices are currently lower than gasoline prices and require less maintenance. So, once purchased, the total cost of ownership of a battery-powered car is equal to or cheaper than a gasoline or diesel car. Another issue is the second-hand car market, which has not yet been developed for electric vehicles.