Minister of Transport Wissing is campaigning for e-fuels to prevent the end of combustion engines. But automakers are only partially enthusiastic about his initiative. Synthetic fuel is popular elsewhere.
From
Jens Flottau and Christina Kunkel
It was a tough struggle, and the message seemed clear: the age of the internal combustion engine in Europe is coming to an end, in 2035. But since Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) threatened last week not to approve the EU proposal, the discussion has started again : Should the internal combustion engine, which has already been declared dead, be given a life-prolonging measure, powered by liquid, climate-friendly fuels, so-called e-fuels? The Minister of Transport’s vehement commitment to this idea, for which Wissing even risks a coalition crash, raises one question above all: Did the car lobby dictate this proposal to him, which is still secretly attached to the combustion engine?