Electricity

German car industry association (VDA) president Hildegard Müller warned that the European Commission's move "further increases the risk of a global trade conflict.”
Electric vehicles 12-06-2024

German car industry, government react against EU EV tariffs as BMW faces 21% duty 

Est. 4min

The German car industry association VDA and senior government ministers criticised the EU’s preliminary tariffs on China-made electric cars announced today (12 June), which will also hit European companies producing in China, such as BMW and Dacia. 

New report finds corporate cars ‘leading on pollution, lagging on electric’

Est. 3min

The company car market, which is ideally positioned to move towards electric-vehicles, is lagging behind the private market for the third year in a row, a new report by green group Transport & Environment (T&E) finds.

31-05-2024

Renewables ‘the way to go’, Austrian-Spanish alliance signals to new Commission

Est. 3min

At a breakfast meeting before Thursday's (30 May) Energy Council, the EU’s pro-renewables countries agreed to push the incoming Commission for more policies favouring their technology.

17-05-2024

French government says low-carbon electricity mix is magnet for foreign investment

Est. 5min

The French president touts it, the French Delegate Minister for Energy praises it: the decarbonized nature of the French electricity mix is an unparalleled asset in attracting foreign investment, particularly in industry. The reality is more complex.

16-05-2024

Baltic states in ‘final phase of work’ to desynchronise electricity grids from Moscow

Est. 4min

In the context of the war in Ukraine, the three Baltic States want to accelerate the desynchronisation of their electricity grids from Russia and Belarus and complete it by February 2025 at the latest.

EVs are on average around 30% more expensive than combustion-engine equivalent models, which has undercut demand for zero-emission cars, leaving legacy automakers in Europe scrambling to develop more affordable models.
Electric vehicles 10-05-2024

China’s BYD will consider second Europe plant in 2025, executive says

Est. 2min

Speaking at the FT's Future of the Car conference, Shu said that BYD will bring a low-cost electric vehicle based on its Chinese Seagull model to Europe.

Europe’s looming power grid roadblock: Transformers

Est. 5min

A shortage of transformers is putting Europe's grid build-out at risk, stretching project lead times and adding to a price surge that will be felt on consumers' bills, researchers and experts have warned.

Making exhausts, headlights, gear boxes or brakes has long been a steady job with suppliers in Germany alone employing some 270,000 people. But the technologies they have specialised in are obsolescent and the process of making battery cars is a less labour-intensive undertaking.
Electric vehicles 06-05-2024

Europe’s auto suppliers – and their workers – feel the pressure

Est. 4min

Production of car component at the town of Gifhorn will end in 2027 and move to Croatia, the Czech Republic and Wales to keep the costs "competitive", according to Continental, which will cut about 7,000 jobs worldwide.

Politics 03-05-2024

Bulgarian court stops largest EU-funded environmental project, citing health risks

Est. 3min

On Thursday Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court stopped the controversial project to build a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) waste incinerator in the centre of Sofia, which would have used EU funding to turn the capital's waste into heat and electricity.

Macron at Sorbonne: Energy key to French president’s ‘new European paradigm’

Est. 4min

French President Emmanuel Macron set out his vision for the future of Europe, placing energy, including nuclear, at the core of his approach, in a speech at Sorbonne University on Thursday (April 25).

high EV production costs in Europe means the bloc will have to rely on cheap imports, mainly from China, if it sticks to the 2035 goal.
Climate change 23-04-2024

EU’s 2050 net zero goals at risk as EV rollout faces setbacks

Est. 3min

By Julia Payne

BRUSSELS, April 22 (Reuters) - The EU needs to rethink its policies to make a 2035 ban on new petrol car sales feasible as electric vehicles (EVs) remain unaffordable and alternative fuel options are not credible, the EU's external auditor said, jeopardising its 2050 climate goals.

The 27-member bloc wants to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, meaning it will emit no more than it can balance out with measures to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere such as reforestation programmes.

It hopes to meet its targets with the widespread use of electric vehicles as road transport accounts for nearly a quarter of its emissions.

The EU wants to have at least 30 million zero-emission cars on European roads by 2030, or about 12% of the current car fleet. However, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) cautioned the bloc may create new economic dependencies and hurt its own industry.

As it stands, high EV production costs in Europe means the bloc will have to rely on cheap imports, mainly from China, if it sticks to the 2035 goal. China accounts for 76% of EV battery output compared with the EU that represents less than 10% of production globally.

"The EU faces a conundrum, how to meet goals without harming industrial policy and hurting consumers," Annemie Turtelboom, an ECA member, told reporters. She added that 2026 will be a key year for a policy review.

Tesla is the leading EV maker in the United States and Europe but has come under pressure to slash prices due to competition from Chinese cars. Similarly, European carmakers like Stellantis that owns Peugeot and Fiat, and Renault are now racing to develop their own affordable EV models.

While EV purchases have been on the rise in the EU, the increase was largely due to subsidies. Further, charging infrastructure is lacking with 70% of charging points concentrated in just Germany, France and the Netherlands. The EU is falling short of its aim to set up 1 million charging stations across the bloc.

"(EV) prices would need to halve and subsidies do not seem to be a viable tool ... Batteries alone already costs 15,000 euros when produced in Europe," Turtleboom added when speaking to reporters.

Alternative fuels like biofuels, e-fuels or hydrogen remain uneconomic at commercial scale.

Adding to the difficulties in hitting its 2050 goal, the ECA said the EU has not cut real CO2 emissions from cars despite new testing standards and measures such as Euro 6.

In a January report, the ECA attributes this to the gap between laboratory tests and real world emission tests. The Commission was relying on lab tests, which created a skewed version. In reality, average emissions from diesel cars are the unchanged from 2010 at 170 grams of CO2 per kilometre while petrol cars are just down 4.6% at over 160 g CO2/km.

"Despite lofty ambitions and strict requirements, most conventional cars still emit as much CO2 as 12 years ago." Nikolaos Milionis, ECA member, said in a statement, attributing part of the failure to a rise in the average weight of cars. (Reporting by Julia Payne; editing by David Evans)

Advocacy Lab Content
22-04-2024

Is Europe’s hydropower potential tapped out?

Est. 7min

Huge dam projects built in Sweden, Austria and France decades ago might not be feasible today, but pumped storage hydropower at sites with existing infrastructure could have major potential to reduce the EU’s emissions.

Europe's East 19-04-2024

Russia aims to destroy Ukraine’s energy generation capacity

Est. 5min

After a first campaign of attacks on transmission infrastructures in 2022-23, Russia has recently started focusing its airstrikes on electricity-generating thermal and hydropower plants, causing an electricity deficit that may take years to make up for.

19-04-2024

What’s next for EU power market, [Part One]

Est. 5min

The EU is about to ratify the Electricity market reform. But this major achievement could be only the first building block of the future European electricity system. Numerous adjustments will have to be made to ensure its resilience after 2030, or even a new reform. Analysis. 

Enrico Letta's pending report is expected to identify the single energy market as "Europe’s best asset to ensure its success in a novel global order” [File photo]
18-04-2024

The Letta report: What’s in the box for Europe’s energy sector

Est. 4min

Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta is set to present his report on the future of Europe’s single market to EU leaders on Thursday 18 April. A deepening of Europe’s Energy Union is a key priority, along with several targeted recommendations on how to transform Europe’s energy sector.

Electric vehicles 12-04-2024

German car lobby chief criticises von der Leyen’s solo run on Chinese EVs

Est. 3min

The decision to open an anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese electric cars was not sufficiently coordinated with Berlin, the head of the German car industry association VDA said on Thursday (11 April), criticising von der Leyen’s solo effort.

Freight 11-04-2024

EU Parliament adopts 90% phase-out of new diesel trucks by 2040

Est. 4min

Average emissions of new trucks will have to be reduced by 90% by 2040, compared to 2019, the European Parliament decided on Wednesday (10 April), adopting a law that will drastically reduce the number of new diesel trucks.

Europe embraces speedier, riskier way of building power grids

Est. 4min

The EU is looking to fast-track massive investments into its energy infrastructure, shifting risk from companies to consumers and risking a landscape with derelict, half-finished pylons.

27-03-2024

Bulgaria halved coal-fired power generation in 2023, upped solar

Est. 3min

Bulgaria’s coal-fired power plants halved their electricity output last year, while solar farms increased production by 141% compared to the previous year, according to data the country’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission sent to parliament.

27-03-2024

Ukraine electricity imports soar after Russian attacks

Est. 3min

Ukraine's daily electricity imports reached their highest this year on Tuesday (26 March) after a series of Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure caused blackouts in many regions, the energy ministry said.

Energy 18-03-2024

New law to protect European energy consumers from market manipulation

Est. 2min

On Monday 18 March, the Council adopted a new law to protect wholesale energy markets from manipulation. The new regulation aims to strengthen market surveillance and guarantee open and fair competition in the European Union.

French EU election list leaders spar over bloc’s electricity market, nuclear

Est. 5min

French candidates topping the lists for the EU elections in June laid bare their differences on nuclear energy and the EU electricity market in the first televised debate of Public Sénat on Thursday (14 March).

Economy 04-03-2024

Europe’s industrial decarbonisation at risk amid sharp drop in CO2 price

Est. 5min

The sharp drop in the EU's CO2 price, caused by high energy prices and political uncertainty, risks the carbon market's credibility – and becomes an obstacle to the bloc's industrial decarbonisation.

France seeks backing for EU-financed nuclear projects of common interest

Est. 5min

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would convene a meeting of pro-nuclear EU countries on 4 March to discuss the launch of an “Important Project of Common Interest (IPCEI)” in the field of nuclear power.