German auto lobby recommends ending all fossil fuel sales by 2045

Published

3 months ago

August 22, 2024

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The main lobby group of the German automobile industry has recommended that all fossil fuel sales should be ended in Germany by 2045.

The news comes from a new position paper (source in German) released by the the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA), the trade group representing some 600 automobile-related companies in the country where the automobile was first invented.

The lobby group, in stark contrast to how American lobbyists often operate, said that the European Union’s guidance on fuels do not go far enough, and need to be stricter if it wants to reach the goal of climate-neutral road traffic by 2045.

The criticism relates to the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III), adopted last year. It sets out goals for renewable energy deployment in various realms, including the adoption of low-carbon fuel sources for road transport.

The VDA spends much of its time advocating in its position paper for “renewable fuels of non-biological origin” (RFNBOs), which is an umbrella term for both green hydrogen (generated through electrolysis of water via renewable energy) and e-fuels produced by combining green hydrogen with other chemicals to create synthetic liquid fuels.

These fuels would be beneficial for certain heavy-duty applications for which batteries are currently too heavy, as they can be more energy dense than batteries. And as VDA points out, there are currently tens of millions of combustion vehicles on the roads in Germany whose impact could be reduced immediately via the application of sustainable fuels.

But their application has been controversial, because it is thought of as a way to maintain current auto industry practices rather than quickly reforming the whole auto industry around electrification. It’s also much more energy intensive than directly fueling vehicles with electricity, even when the most green methods are used for e-fuel production. As a result, environmental organizations typically recommend that e-fuels shouldn’t have a place in road transport, rather more in aviation and shipping.

Further, EU member nations were able to water down RED III’s targets on e-fuel adoption (with Germany being one of the main advocates for this stipulation, though there was debate among German automakers).

VDA claims that bonus incentives for e-fuels, and particularly for hydrogen, should be retained for some time before ramping down, in order to incentivize nascent enterprises focusing on their production. And that long-term targets with higher mixes of these fuels should be adopted now – VDA wants to see renewable fuel use rise to 60% by 2035, 90% by 2040, and 100% by 2045.

But after stating this target, VDA says its most interesting sentence, from which this article got its title: “In the interests of climate protection, fossil fuels should no longer be allowed to be sold at German petrol stations from 2045 onwards.”

In context, VDA is arguing that gas stations should still remain open and still sell fuel, but that that fuel should be entirely renewable. But it is a rather stark statement, and one that might not be expected from an auto industry lobbyist – a recognition of climate change and the huge amount that road transport contributes to it, and a rapid end to the primary way that road transport fuels climate change.

Electrek’s Take

We have seen various efforts to stop the sale of new combustion-engined vehicles by 2035 (which we have repeatedly argued should be sooner, and some countries indeed have targeted earlier timelines), but this might be our first time hearing an auto lobbyist call for an end to fossil fuel sales.

That said, the context of arguing in favor of greater e-fuel adoption means that this call by the VDA isn’t as entirely ambitious as it might originally seem.

While VDA is correct that current vehicles will remain on the road for a long time, and that a solution that allows them to decarbonize would be beneficial, we share the worry that e-fuels are simply a way to maintain current industry practices.

The recent history of advocacy for e-fuels by German firms does give us the feeling that there is an undercurrent of some companies trying to forestall industry electrification. Much in the same way that focus on hydrogen, or on predictions of future battery improvements, have been used by Japanese firms to convince the market that now is not the time for fully-electric vehicles.

So we have to be skeptical of this to some extent, because it would be a shame if a call like this resulted in less momentum for industry electrification, which is an objectively less energy intense step for decarbonization. The IEA (and… everyone else) acknowledges that electrification of transport is one of the most important strategies for reducing CO2 emissions.

But regardless, we must say – naturally, we agree with the VDA that fossil fuel sales need to end by 2045.

Frankly, earlier would be good – there’s genuinely no time too early to end fossil fuel sales, and no pace too quick to reduce them. The magnitude of the harm that climate change will otherwise cause, and the cost of trying to reduce it which will only increase as time goes on, dictate this.

And to see an auto industry organization at least acknowledge that fossil fuels sales need to end by 2045 completely in order to hit Germany’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal (and EU’s 2050 goal) is quite striking. We’re used to industry organizations whining about every little thing – even rules they claim to support – so it’s nice to see a step in the right direction.

But hopefully, German and EU regulators go even further than what VDA has asked, and don’t rely so heavily on e-fuels to get to carbon neutrality, and rather to increasing ambitions around electrification, public transport, and micromobility.

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Environment

Electreon and Xos to deploy wireless charging for commercial EV deliveries like UPS in Michigan

Published

2 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Electreon and Xos to deploy wireless charging for commercial EV deliveries like UPS in Michigan

The State of Michigan has announced a new partnership with wireless EV charging specialist Electreon and Commercial EV manufacturer Xos, Inc. Together, the companies have secured funding from the state to expand wireless charging availability for commercial vehicles, including UPS trucks in Detroit.

It’s been nearly a year since the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the City of Detroit, and Electreon ($ELWS) unveiled the first wireless EV charging roadway in the United States.

Michigan installed Electreon’s wireless inductive-charging coils (seen below) on 14th Street in Detroit between Marantette and Dalzelle streets to charge EVs equipped with Electreon receivers as they drive on the road.

At the time. MDOT and Detroit officials said the road would be used to test and perfect Electreon’s wireless EV charging technology in a real-world environment before “making it available to the public in the next few years.”

While the public will not be able to take advantage of wireless charging just yet, commercial EVs are gaining access thanks to a new partnership between Electreon, Xos ($XOS), and the State of Michigan.

Electreon’s wireless EV charging technology
The US’ first wireless charging road debuts in Detroit’s Michigan Central innovation district on 14th Street / Source: MDOT

Michigan progresses as US wireless EV charging leader

When Michigan announced the first wireless EV charging road in the US last year, officials shared hopes that the Great Lakes State and the city of Detroit could become leaders in the innovation and and deployment of such nascent technology.

Following a press release from Electreon, the State of Michigan confirmed details of the new partnership, which now includes commercial EV developer Xos, Inc. as well. The new commercial partnership is supported by $200,000 in funding from the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP), building off the state’s “Make it in Michigan: economic strategy, developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to invest in the state’s people, places and projects.

Through the partnership and coinciding state funding, Electreon will extend its wireless EV charging network and use cases in Michigan. Additionally, Electreon’s technology will be integrated into delivery step vans from Xos in order to “demonstrate wireless charging technological value and its potential to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) in the electrification of commercial truck fleets.” Stefan Tongur, vice president of business development for Electreon, elaborated:

We’re excited to demonstrate how Electreon’s technology can optimize electric fleet usage and showcase the seamless integration of wireless charging into daily fleet operations, minimizing downtime and enabling charging across time and location. We’re proud to do this work in Michigan, a state fostering innovation and sustainable transportation solutions.

In addition to expanding wireless charging on Detroit’s first “electric roadway,” the Michigan project will enable the installation of stationary wireless charging at a UPS facility in Detroit. Xos co-founder and CEO Dakota Semler also spoke:

We are proud to partner with Electreon and support UPS to demonstrate the potential of wireless charging in commercial fleets. This innovative approach will revolutionize how we power our electric vehicles and drive fleet electrification forward.

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Environment

Here’s our first look at Jaguar’s new luxury electric 4-door GT [Images]

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3 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Here's our first look at Jaguar's new luxury electric 4-door GT [Images]

The iconic British luxury automaker is undergoing a major brand overhaul. With its official debut around the corner, Jaguar’s electric 4-door GT, the first of its new series, was spotted testing on British roads. The new images give us a closer look at what we can expect from the revamped Jag brand.

Jaguar’s new electric GT makes its first appearance

After building internal combustion-powered sports cars for over 75 years, Jaguar will become an all-electric luxury brand from 2025.

The company announced earlier this year that it will start fresh with an entirely new range of EVs. After killing off the F-Type, E-Pace, XF, and soon the F-Pace SUV, we are finally getting our first look at what the new branding will look like.

Jaguar’s new electric 4-door GT was caught testing on British roads. The camouflaged prototypes reveal a radically different look than the Jag models we are accustomed to.

You can see one of the biggest changes is the low-riding, extended silhouette, as opposed to the crossover SUV and sedan models like the F-Type and I-Pace, Jaguar’s first EV.

The front and rear bumper designs also appear much more aggressive and bold than previous models.

Jaguar’s electric GT is being put through the paces ahead of its debut. It has already completed tens of thousands of testing miles (virtual and real-world) and will soon hit public streets worldwide.

The new model will be built in Solihull, UK, where Jaguar recently ended production of its gas-powered models.

It will be the first to ride on Jaguar’s new JAE (Jaguar Electric Architecture), which will underpin its upcoming lineup of high-end luxury EVs with prices over £100,000 ($130,000). The electric GT will have a range of over 434 miles (700 km) and upwards of 575 hp, making it Jaguar’s most powerful car of all time.

Jaguar will debut its Design Vision Concept at Miami Art Week on December 2, 2024. Next Summer, it’s expected to make its official global debut ahead of deliveries in 2026.

What do you think of Jaguar’s new design based on what’s shown? Are you excited about the brand overhaul? Let us know in the comments below.

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Environment

Tesla pushes end-to-end neural networks for highway driving, but only for newer vehicles

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Tesla pushes end-to-end neural networks for highway driving, but only for newer vehicles

Tesla has pushed a new (Supervised) Full Self-Driving update with the promised end-to-end neural networks for highway driving.

However, it’s only for newer vehicles.

“End-to-end” is what Tesla refers to as neural net-powered AI driving the vehicle from vision to controls rather than the controls being explicitly coded. It’s already the case in all widely released versions of (Supervised) Full Self-Driving (FSD) for city driving, but not for highway driving, which uses another software stack.

Tesla originally planned to deliver it for highway driving in October, but it was only delivered to a small number of vehicles.

In its latest AI roadmap, Tesla said that it would come the first week of November instead.

Now, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of self-driving and AI, said that the latest release with end-to-end highway driving (v12.5.6.3) has been widely pushed to HW4 vehicle owners:

With the latest release (v12.5.6.3), FSD is using end-to-end neural networks for driving across highways, city streets and parking lots, and has now shipped widely for AI4 vehicles. Highway driving should be smoother, more natural and even safer than the previous explicit control stack. Check out the different driving styles to set speed and lane change preferences. Enjoy and let Tesla AI know if you have any feedback.

However, there’s no word for the millions of HW3 vehicle owners.

In fact, the only thing promised to HW3 vehicles, which Tesla now called AI3, in its last roadmap is this:

Improved v12.5.x models for AI3 city driving

As we have often reported this year, Tesla has reached the limits of the HW3 computer and now needs to optimize the code with every release despite still being far from its promise of unsupervised self-driving.

Electrek’s Take

This is annoying cause I could really use end-to-end on my HW3 car. I am on v12.5.4.2 and it has been a regression from v12.5.4.1 for me, especially on highways.

Yesterday, it almost drove me off-road when taking my highway exit, which is always a bit shaky because it is a short exit and FSD often swings itself into it. It’s a bit awkward, and my girlfriend never likes it, so I disengage FSD before taking the exit when she was with me, but this time, she wasn’t, and I had the new update.

It again swung left before going right into the exit, but this time, it went way too far, and I was in the shoulder by the time I took control.

I took this exit hundreds of times with FSD and it’s the first time it did that.

I am starting to think we won’t see much more improvements to FSD with HW3 cars and there’s no retrofit computer in sight.

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