12 “A central pillar of our climate policy is the transformation of transport.” – for the German automotive and supply industry, this was the key statement by the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his first government statement to the German Bundestag. The essential yardstick of this mission statement is the target of the European Commission to reduce greenhouse gases by 55 percent by 2030 and to achieve complete climate neutrality by 2050. This involves savings of 40 percent by 2030 in the transport sector. The next four years will reveal whether the transport policy measures agreed in the coalition agreement are sufficient to achieve these targets. A prominent focus for the transformation of transport is electrification, which is clearly demonstrated by government subsidy programs for the purchase of battery-powered or hybrid vehicles. One in five newly registered private cars are now electric vehicles, even though the establishment of the necessary charging infrastructure remains considerably below expectations. The hydrogen technology can be regarded as a secondary field, although fuel cells and hydrogen-fueled engines are gaining importance in the heavy transport sector. These two hydrogen technologies are also experiencing a certain impetus for private vehicles. However, even if at least 15 million new electric vehicles are registered by 2030, as assumed in the coalition agreement, this means that up to 2030 about 15 million vehicles equipped with conventional combustion engines will still be newly registered, on the assumption an average of 3.5 million new registrations per year, as in previous years. In addition, there is an existing stock of about 48 million private vehicles, which are used for an average of 9.8 years and will accordingly affect the climate balance in the coming years, albeit to a decreasing amount. Against this background it appears to be almost essential to increase both the political and technological focus on the operation or continued operation of combustion engine vehicles with non-fossil or synthetic fuels – so-called e-fuels – in order to also achieve an increasing level of climate neutrality in this sector. However, the technology is not without controversy. The main argument against the use of synthetic fuels is their low efficiency and their high production costs. It certainly cannot be denied that synthetic fuels have a considerably lower overall efficiency in comparison with direct electric drives. However, especially in this field, intensive research to optimise manufacturing processes is being carried out throughout the world. Here, the further development of electrolysis technologies and the development of alternatives to this plays a central role, as hydrogen generation is a substantial cost factor in the production of synthetic fuels. This research is also highly relevant for other branches of industry – above all the steel industry – which will require large quantities of hydrogen to decarbonise their processes. The issue of the low efficiency of synthetic fuels should also be put into perspective with regard to their indirect consequential Synthetic fuels – an integral element of a decarbonisation strategy in the transport sector By Prof. Dr. Gerhard Reiff, Chairman of the Management Board of KST-Motorenversuch GmbH & Co. KG For more than 50 years, vehicle manufacturers throughout the world, as well as their suppliers, manufacturers of vehicle drive assemblies and components, producers of large-scale engines as well as companies from the mineral oil sector as manufacturers of automotive fuels and fluids have relied on the competence and expertise of the independent development service provider and test facility operator KST-Motorenversuch GmbH & Co. KG. In addition to certified test beds equipped with cutting edge testing technology for all types of engines and components, KST also has the necessary measurement and analysis systems for testing the special requirements of synthetic fuels. Image: © KST Prof. Dr. Gerhard Reiff, Chairman of the Management Board of KST-Motorenversuch GmbH & Co. KG
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