Over the past few years, we have seen the start of a major push to transition away from fossil fuels towards carbon-neutral alternatives in what is one of the biggest toll processing challenges the world has ever seen and will continue to see well into the next decade.
Part of the reason for this deadline is that by 2030, new petrol and diesel cars will no longer be allowed to be sold in the UK and by 2030 all new cars will be zero emissions.
Similar legislation in the EU would have banned combustion engines entirely, but this has been changed to allow the use of e-fuels as well, which could have an effect on the priorities of the car industry.
An e-fuel or electro fuel is a combination of captured carbon dioxide mixed with sustainably sourced hydrogen that is used to create a biofuel that is carbon-neutral and thus could be used for industries such as aviation where battery power is currently not entirely feasible.
The debate over e-fuels has been somewhat divisive in the motoring industry, with some performance manufacturers welcoming the move as it allows for drop-in carbon-neutral technologies, whilst others are more dismissive.
The issue is one of efficiency and local emissions. Whilst on a macroscopic level e-fuels are carbon neutral, they are still biofuels and thus will lead to local emissions instead.
There is also a concern about sourcing hydrogen, which at present is primarily produced using natural gas and thus makes the fuel similar to LPG in terms of missions.
The Department for Transport is not convinced, with a spokesman claiming that whilst they have a specialist role, they are not the primary solution for cars compared to EVs, so the focus, therefore, is on extending public charging networks and improving the efficiency of batteries.
Officially, the legislation change would not affect the UK, as the ban is specific to petrol and diesel cars.