Transport is the major contributor of emissions in Europe and as a part of our global targets, we need to cut down the same by 95% by 2050 and we can only achieve this with the effective contribution from all fuels and transport modes, says Kristian Hedberg, Head of Unit, Sustainable & Intelligent Transport, DG MOVE, European Commission. 

"The complex transformation of the entire transportation system needs a plan and it is for the same reason that the European Commission adopted a Sustainability and Smart Mobility Strategy last December. First pillar of the strategy is to develop and deploy new clean propulsion systems as well as renewable and low carbon fuels for road, air, and water transport without further delay. Secondly, we need to get best out of what we have got, in terms of multi-modality, i.e. to use the better mobility of transport for each leg of the journey,” says Kristian Hedberg, Head of Unit, Sustainable & Intelligent Transport, DG MOVE, European Commission. 

Speaking at the "Digital Dialogue-Chemistry: The engine of future mobility?" Hedberg said, “Alternative fuel vehicles will be bought in tens of millions if we have market choice and an attractive range of affordable models. We need the options to recharge or refuel across the EU without hassles. We need charging and fueling infrastructure regulation across Europe. There should be binding targets for member states with a widespread network of interoperable charging infrastructure. The market driven uptake of EV vehicles has to be promoted besides making travel across borders and Hydrogen refueling across corridors possible without much hassle.” 

Pascal Chalvon, Chief Sustainability Officer, Solvay said, “We are innovating to reduce the density within batteries to speed up the recharge time. It is linked to chemistry and very clearly, the reduction in weight of the vehicle is very crucial. We will introduce new plastic techno-composites to enable all these technologies. The batteries themselves have huge scope for improvements and there is an ongoing process to increase capacities and reduce weight. For hydrogen, we need the capability to produce it. For its storage, safety, and security, we need solutions. Low carbon technologies is first. Second, circularity that requires mindset and systemic change. Aimed at the introduction of bio-based fuel to replace fossil based fuel, there is an increasing role of bio-based materials and the recycling capacities. If we stop the circularity at the mechanical level itself, we miss the final loop. We need to bring back the molecule in the system. Third, we must do everything to boost demand and develop competitiveness of the product.” 

“Direct dialogue with car makers is important. Massive investment on infrastructure and visibility to electricity. We can’t afford to have up-downs of electricity charges. We need coherency between different regulations. Many of the critical materials that will ensure transition are under scrutiny. We have a situation where we are thinking whether to wait for it to resolve or continue the work in anticipation of regulatory issues being resolved soon. We must ensure that the chemicals used in vehicle production must not be banned,” adds Chalvon. 

Speaking from the auto-makers perspective, Eric-Mark Huitema, Director General, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) says, “Fit for 55 has huge targets to reduce the C02 emissions from cars and the 100% reduction target is effectively a ban on the internal combustion engine (ICE) in Europe. In order to make the transition we need huge support. The car CO2 target of 55% by 2030 would be challenging and requires corresponding binding targets for EU member states to build up the necessary charging and refueling infrastructure. Since 50% EV target by 2030 is ambitious, only 3.5 million chargers won’t be enough. Instead, we will require 6 million public EV chargers. The transition will have a major impact on jobs and 2.4 million Europeans would require up-skilling or retraining. All powertrains must play a role in transition to climate neutrality. Need to reduce the carbon footprint of the whole fleet on the road besides the fact that the EU needs to focus on innovation and not banning technologies.” 

“There are less than 225,000 public charging points available in the EU which is short of what is required. Just 1 in 9 charging points in the EU is a fast charger. 3 countries, covering just 23% of the EU’s total surface area, account for 70% of all charging points today. 124 hydrogen filling stations available in 10 EU countries. 17 member countries have none at all. At the same time, trucks alone will require 1,000 dedicated hydrogen stations by 2020,” added Huitema. 

“We announced the target for carbon neutral road transport long before the European Commission published the green deal or the ‘Fit for 55’ package. While the target is clear, the question is how to achieve the same. We as engineers and researchers are clearly convinced that it can’t be achieved by ideologically driven regulations or restrictions but technical innovation. Sustainability has three dimensions including ecological, economic and social. Among these, if it doesn’t work in an economic way, it will never really work. When we talk about sustainable road transport, we are very often focused on fuels but to be clear we need to be sure that we need more sustainable fuels from our side and the chemical industry has to support this by many activities. It is not just the sustainability from the point of use of the vehicles but also the sustainability at the production level, materials that are used, and also in the recycling phase of the vehicle. We need sustainability at the levels of energy and infrastructure,” says Dr. Ing-Stephan Neugebauer, Director - Global Research Cooperation, BMW Group and Chairman, European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC).