Traceability E-Fuels 2035

Abstract

EU legislation provides for only local CO2 emission-free vehicles to be allowed in individual passenger transport by 2035. In addition, the directive provides for fuels from renewable sources, i.e. defossilised fuels. This development leads to three possible energy sources or forms of energy for use in individual transport. The first possibility is charging with electricity generated from renewable sources, the second possibility is hydrogen generated from renewable sources or blue production path. The third possibility is the use of renewable fuels, also called e-fuels. These fuels are produced from atmospheric CO2 and renewable hydrogen. Possible processes for this are, for example, methanol or Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The production of these fuels is very energy-intensive and large amounts of renewable electricity are needed. Thus, national production of these fuels in the EU is inefficient in terms of cost and carbon footprint due to the low utilisation rate of renewable energy plants. Outsourcing these processes to regions where renewable energy production takes place under high utilisation rates and thus the amount of installed capacity can be reduced seems to make sense. Nevertheless, it is to be expected that the costs of the renewably produced fuel will be considerably higher than for the respective fossil equivalent. This makes the production and distribution chain susceptible to fraud by mixing it with, or substituting it for, fossil fuel. This problem can only be controlled by appropriate regulations and controls. This paper presents different options for product control and certification, both for the global and the EU trade area. It conceptually discusses different procedures for control, certification and fuel labelling. First, the draft for a global, certificate-based system for production volume control is presented. This draft enables independent trading of certificates and the product. This makes it possible to implement both pure certificate trading and product-linked certificate trading. Thus, each trading zone can implement the system that suits them best, without disturbing the control of the global production volume. In a second step, an automated monitoring system for tracking imported renewable fuels in the EU trading zone is presented. This is done via a second certification authority and continuous digital and governmental monitoring. In a third step, possibilities are presented with which the fuel or the refuelling in the vehicle can be monitored. Finally, a conclusion is given on the practicability of such a monitoring system.