In the face of opposition from several countries, to the internal combustion engine ban in Europe from 2035, it has been reported that the EU Commission is now drafting proposals to create a new legal vehicle category for cars that can only run on e-fuels.

News agency, Reuters, says that such cars would have to employ technologies that only allow them to operate on climate neutral e-fuels and would not run if conventional fuel was used.  

If adopted the proposal would allow car makers in Europe to keep selling internal combustion engine vehicles in Europe after 2035, provided their fuel is climate neutral. While e-fuels do create a small amount of CO2 tailpipe emissions, the fuel manufacturing process compensates for this by taking CO2 from the atmosphere. 

While e-fuels are seen as viable for use in cars, it is generally thought that aviation and shipping would be the main industries adopting the fuel source. At present production of such fuels is limited, however, advances in technology before 2035 could see this change significantly.