Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The opposition FDP parliamentary group doubts the triumph of the electric car and is urging the state government to use synthetic fuels more. FDP parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke warned on Monday in Stuttgart that anyone who insists too much on electromobility will bring themselves into “negligent dependence” on China, which dominates the battery market. In addition, the proportion of e-cars is only increasing very slowly, despite years of funding.
It cannot be ruled out that Germany will one day deal with China in the same way as it is currently doing with Russia. “If the Chinese get the idea that we’ll grab Taiwan,” sanctions and embargoes would threaten here too, which would have even worse effects than those for the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. “Then the European car and supplier industry will come to a standstill if you do ‘battery only’,” predicted the liberal.
Rülke calls on green-black to clear the way for more use of so-called e-fuels. “Only with synthetic fuels, with which every combustion engine can already be operated in a CO2-neutral manner, can we successfully transform our domestic automotive industry in an economically and socially acceptable way.” The FDP politician was confident: “We are the true climate protectors.”
E-fuels are fuels for gasoline or diesel engines that are produced using a difficult chemical process. Critics argue against synthetic fuels that the production requires a lot of energy and is therefore very expensive. In addition, unlike electric vehicles, cars emit climate-damaging CO2 when burning e-fuels.
