Germany hoped to reach an agreement with other countries on synthetic fuels. The goal was to announce it at the IAA show in Munich, but Germany was not successful.
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing was hoping for a giant deal on e-fuels. He wanted to convince many countries to build factories to produce these synthetic fuels.
In a letter revealed by PoliticoWissing also advocated the “sharing know-how” and the “technological neutrality”. This document was intended to serve as a statement at the time of the announcement, not to rely on electric technologies.
We know that Germany is opposed to all-electric and wants to keep cars with combustion engines. To do this, the country has even revised European laws requiring manufacturers to go zero emissions in 2035.
The declaration emphasized the “industrial policy opportunities” what this decision could bring. Furthermore, it stipulated that this agreement “would also improve industrial policy opportunities for countries in the South, as mass production will benefit from particularly favorable conditions in regions where the costs of producing wind and solar electricity are low. »
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Only three countries signed the declaration
But the German minister’s big project did not go at all as he hoped. Ultimately, only three countries supported this declaration. Czechia and Japan signed it, as well as Morocco.
Wissing therefore abandoned this project due to lack of support, but he nevertheless held a press conference with his Czech counterpart, Martin Kupka. During this, he explained the needs of the synthetic fuels market.
“Successful deployment and acceleration of the e-fuel market requires comprehensive global policy support”he noted.
Support which is slow to come for Germany, and which foreshadows political struggles to come. Indeed, it will be difficult to defend the authorization of sales of thermal engines after 2035 if the e-fuel industry is not up to the challenge.
