Initiative with France: Bilger wants to help E20 fuel achieve a breakthrough

The ban on combustion engines in the EU from 2035 is about to end. In order to do more for the climate, Berlin and Paris want to double the amount of bioethanol added to gasoline.

Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger wants to push ahead with the introduction of E20 petrol following the Franco-German agreement to ease the ban on combustion engines. “I am currently working with my French counterpart to ensure that we increase the admixture of biofuels,” said Bilger to the “Augsburger Allgemeine” when asked how he wanted to take climate protection into account instead. With a higher proportion of bioethanol at the pumps, the dependence on oil imports could also be reduced. The designations E5 and E10 indicate the maximum proportion of bioethanol in gasoline. E20 would correspond to a maximum mixing rate of 20 percent. On the occasion of the opening of the first E20 gas station in Germany in June, the ADAC speculated that the price would be around the E10 level.

Representatives of the EU states and the European Parliament agreed in 2022 that new cars in the EU would no longer be allowed to emit climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) during operation from 2035. Otherwise you may face fines. The EU Commission proposed in December that cars with combustion engines should continue to be registered. The European Parliament and the EU states are currently discussing this. The plan will not come into effect without their consent. Germany and the car industry had long campaigned for a softening of the decision to phase out combustion engines. Berlin and Paris have now agreed on joint proposals for the future of combustion engines and electric cars.

Bilger defended the joint move by Berlin and Paris to weaken the planned EU ban on new combustion engines. Germany is well positioned with the public charging network. “But other countries in Europe, to which the ban on combustion engines should also apply, still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to expanding the charging infrastructure. And that is also why there is currently a lot of willingness in Europe to correct the ban on combustion engines,” said the CDU politician. A complete ban on combustion engines would also harm the German automotive industry, as the switch to electromobility would take longer in many export countries. Bilger emphasized that he always considered the decision to be a mistake.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed that the CO2 reduction target for new cars should fall from 100 to 90 percent from 2035. Compensation for the remaining ten percent should no longer be necessary. Germany and France must now implement the plans at EU level. The German-French concept also envisages gradually increasing the requirements for the proportion of car components produced in Europe in order to strengthen the domestic industry.