Although the period of Directive 2014/94/EU on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure (hereafter ‘the Directive’), which has been in place for almost a decade, is slowly coming to an end, there is no denying that this act has significantly influenced the development of legal standards for electromobility across Europe. With the announcement of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, it has become clear that the European Union wants to revolutionise a huge number of areas that have a significant impact on climate wellbeing. By the end of 2023, a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union on the development of alternative fuels infrastructure (abbreviated as ‘AFIR’) is to be completed to repeal the current Directive [1]. This change will result in the need for significant amendments to Polish domestic law, as the Act of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels was partly based on the implementation of the standards of the aforementioned legislation. According to EU proposals, the capacity of publicly available charging infrastructure for electric cars in Poland should increase up to 34 times by 2035 [2]. However, there are still many systemic barriers that limit the development of charging infrastructure in the country.
The current Directive, in Article 2(1), defines alternative fuels as fuels or energy sources that serve, at least in part, as a substitute for crude oil-derived energy sources in transport and that have the potential to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport and the greening of the transport sector. Considering the content of the cited definition, therefore, it can be seen that the EU legislator did not opt for a closed list of substances that the law recognises as alternative fuels. The legislation deliberately uses undefined phrases in this regard, leaving more freedom to the addressees of the standards in their interpretation. Nonetheless, for instructional reasons, the EU legislator mentions by way of example a number of substances that are unquestionably regarded as “alternative fuels”. These are:
– electricity;
– hydrogen;
– biofuels as defined in Article 2(i) of Directive 2009/28/EC;
– synthetic and paraffinic fuels;
– natural gas, including biomethane, in gaseous form (compressed natural gas – CNG) and in liquid form (liquefied natural gas – LNG);
– liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
For comparative purposes, it seems reasonable to quote the legal definition from the Polish Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels. According to Article 2(11) of the said act, ‘alternative fuels’ means electricity or fuels used to power engines:
(a) motor vehicles within the meaning of Article 2, point 32 of the Act of 20 June 1997. – Road Traffic Law,
(b) rail vehicles,
(c) vessels
– as a substitute for fuels derived from crude oil or obtained from its processing, in particular hydrogen, liquid biofuels, synthetic and paraffinic fuels, compressed natural gas (CNG), including from biomethane, liquefied natural gas (LNG), including from biomethane, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)”.
As can be seen, analogous to the European legislator, the Polish legislator also uses an open definition with an exemplary list of individual alternative fuels. It seems interesting that the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels treats as ‘alternative fuels’ the substances in question only when these are used to power the engines of vehicles in the categories listed in the provision.
The use of electricity as an alternative fuel used to power vehicles is the focus of an entire branch of science – electromobility. With the growing popularisation of electric cars, e-scooters and other electric-powered means of transport, there has been a demand for specialists in this field – the largest technical universities in Poland have long since opened appropriate specialised courses to train engineers in this field (e.g. the Warsaw University of Technology and the Poznań University of Technology) [3]. The detailed implementation of the Directive on the use of electricity as an alternative fuel in Poland is the Act of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is an element present on Earth in abundance. Due to its positive chemical and physical properties, scientists interested in the energy transition are turning their attention to its potential use as an alternative fuel [5]. The availability of hydrogen in nature makes it particularly attractive for sustainable development and increasing energy independence. It is therefore important to keep an eye on technological advances in its use.
Essentially, hydrogen as a fuel is eventually converted to electricity with the help of cells, so hydrogen cars are a de facto subset of electric vehicles. Fuel cells are devices consisting of an anode (negative electrode) and a cathode (positive electrode) that enable the production of electricity through an electrochemical process.
The potential for the use of hydrogen is enormous, but not necessarily in the sphere of powering cars. Prof Maximilian Fichtner, deputy director of the Helmhotz Institute in Ulm, stated: “I have absolutely nothing against hydrogen as an energy storage substance. Only that it should be used where it makes sense, i.e. not in cars, but in stationary applications” [6].
Biofuels as defined in Article 2(i) of Directive 2009/28/EC
According to the provision of Article 2(i) of Directive 2009/28/EC, to which the Directive refers, ‘biofuels shall mean liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced from biomass’. Biomass is a type of energy material that is derived from various types of plant and animal residues and waste products. Examples of biomass are wood chips, vegetable oils and straw. Interestingly, the Polish Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels does not use the term ‘biomass’ at all, and the phrase ‘biofuel’ is used only once – in Article 2(11) in the definition of alternative fuels already cited. The development of biofuels in Europe came about because of the instability of the situation in the Middle East, i.e. countries with significant oil reserves, and also because of research into ways of mitigating global warming. A distinction is currently made between biofuels:
– liquid – e.g. biobenzines obtained by alcoholic fermentation of carbohydrates into ethanol;
– solid – e.g. straw in the form of briquettes;
– gaseous – e.g. gases resulting from the anaerobic digestion of animal faeces [7].
In addition, three generations of biofuels are distinguished, viz:
– first-generation biofuels – substances for the production of which starch, sugar or vegetable oil has been used;
– second-generation biofuels – such as biohydrogen or cellulosic ethanol;
– third-generation biofuels – produced from algae and other micro-organisms.
The Act of 25 August 2006 on bio-components and liquid biofuels allows registered individual farmers to produce biofuels in a limited quantity of 100 l/ha or in the form of the energy equivalent of another fuel.
Synthetic fuels
Synthetic fuels are a very general category of artificial fuels. Unlike conventional fuel, which is derived from petroleum, synthetic fuels are the result of chemical reactions, most commonly the electrolysis of water into oxygen and hydrogen and then the combination of hydrogen with CO2. When they are burned, they emit much cleaner emissions with no sulphur or aromatic hydrocarbons, and their production using renewable energy results in a lower carbon footprint than conventional fuels. The synthetic fuel production process allows the use of a variety of energy sources, both renewable, such as solar, wind and biomass, and non-renewable, such as natural gas and coal. However, when producing fuels from non-renewable feedstocks, the process relies on the use of greenhouse gas reduction technologies to minimise the environmental impact.
Natural gas in gaseous form (CNG) and in liquid form (LNG).
The concept of a natural gas vehicle is defined in Article 2(14) of the Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels as “a motor vehicle within the meaning of Article 2(33) of the Act of 20 June 1997. – Road Traffic Law, using compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propulsion, including those derived from biomethane, and having: a mono-fuel engine, or a type 1A bi-fuel engine, which operates in the hot part of the dynamic test cycle with an average gas consumption rate of not less than 90% and which does not consume exclusively diesel at idling speed and does not have a diesel-only engine operating mode other than the service or emergency operating mode of the vehicle’s factory-approved gas system, or, in the case of a positive-ignition engine, which has an emergency engine petrol tank with a capacity of not more than 15 litres.”
Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting mainly of methane (in the range of 70% to 98%), ethane, propane, carbon monoxide and dioxide, nitrogen and helium. Depending on the proportion of these components, several types of natural gas are distinguished. When the methane content exceeds 85%, it is referred to as high-methane gas (E natural gas), while if it contains between 30% and just over 80% methane, it is called nitrogenated gas (Ls natural gas). High-methane gas has a higher calorific value than nitrogenated gas, but is slightly more expensive. There is also a distinction between dry natural gas, which contains about 95% methane and ethane, and wet natural gas, which contains up to about 30% heavier hydrocarbons such as propane and butane [8].
Depending on whether natural gas has been liquefied or whether it is used in its original form, we will be dealing with LNG (liquefied natural gas) or CNG, respectively. On the streets of Polish cities, it is increasingly common to see vehicles powered by this type of fuel, with the proviso, however, that they are mainly used by entrepreneurs. CNG is particularly popular as a fuel for public transport buses; in 2020, almost every second alternative fuel bus sold in Poland was powered by this gas.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a mixture of propane and butane as liquefied petroleum gas. This fuel can be obtained in two ways. The first is through processes in the oil and gas fields that produce naturally occurring gas. The second way is to obtain LPG as a by-product of the oil refining process, i.e. from artificial origin.
Cars powered by LPG have been a common sight on Polish roads for many decades. Most installations of this type of fuel technology take place after the purchase of the car – when the factory fitted petrol engine is retrofitted with appropriate mechanisms allowing the use of liquefied petroleum gas. Sometimes, however, car manufacturers decide to introduce cars with factory-installed LPG systems (e.g. Dacia Duster, Renault Clio) [9], which may be an attractive alternative to more expensive petrol and diesel. Disadvantages of such a solution include a possible reduction in engine performance, a reduction in vehicle range and a potential risk associated with the flammability of LPG.
The possible catalogue of alternative fuels is in principle only limited by current technological progress, and intensive research into new developments confirms that the EU legislator was right not to introduce a closed list of substances. Now that the EU authorities are waiting for the final versions of the AFIR regulation to be presented, it is all the more important to analyse the validity of the existing legislation over the last decade [10]. With the help of the experience gained, the EU legislation will be able to adapt the legal norms to the existing factual circumstances in an appropriately favourable manner so as to support the development of oil companies and safeguard the welfare of consumers.
REFERENCES:
[1] https://www.rp.pl/prawo-w-firmie/art38269131-czy-polskie-prawo-jest-gotowe-na-afir
[2] https://pspa.com.pl/2022/raport/polska-musi-przygotowac-sie-na-afir/
[3]https://moto.rp.pl/na-prad/art37858061-brakuje-wykwalifikowanej-kadry-w-elektromobilnosci-ruszaja-studia-podyplomowe
[4] https://zpe.gov.pl/a/dzialanie-silnika-pradu-stalego/DSdbs0wWL
[5] Marek Graff – Hydrogen as a fuel – advantages and disadvantages; TTS 5-6/2020 pp. 16-28
[6]https://e.autokult.pl/samochody-z-napedem-wodorowym-zasada-dzialania-mity-i-fakty,6849104739863360a
[7]https://www.viessmann.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/T11_SEO_B22__Biopaliwa__28_02_2017.pdf
[8] https://www.pgi.gov.pl/muzeum/kopalnia-wiedzy-1/12664-gaz-ziemny.html
[9] https://carsmile.pl/blog/nowe-auta-z-lpg [10]https://pspa.com.pl/2023/informacja/licznik-elektromobilnosci-wyrazny-wzrost-liczby-szybkich-stacji-ladowania-od-poczatku-2023-r/
[10]https://moto.pl/MotoPL/7,175394,28898007,afir-na-strazy-infrastrukturalnego-rozwoju-ue-ma-konkretny.html
SOURCES:
– legal acts:
- Directive 2014/94/EU on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure
- Act of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1083, as amended).
- Act of 20 June 1997 – Road Traffic Law (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2022, item 988)
- Act of 25 August 2006 on bio-components and liquid biofuels (Dz.U.2022.403 t.j. of 2022.02.16)
- Act of 25 August 2006 on the system of monitoring and controlling fuel quality (i.e. Journal of Laws 2022, item 1315, as amended).
– other:
1. Pieriegud Jana , Gajewski Jerzy , Paprocki Wojciech – Elektromobility in Poland against the background of European and global trends; published by CeDeWu Sp. z o.o. 2019 r.
2 Kwiatkiewicz Piotr , Szczerbowski Radosław , Śledzik Waldemar – Electromobility. Infrastructure environment and technical challenges of intra-regional policy; FNCE 2020 edition.
