Only by joining forces and with a clear plan can the rapid defossilisation of the transport sector succeed: With a plea for more technological diversity, including the use of e-fuels, the 12th International Engine Congress (25-26 February 2025) in Baden-Baden ended. Many keynote speakers particularly called for more clarity in the political decisions in order to achieve the climate protection goals.
More than 300 experts and decision-makers – including more than 270 on site in Baden-Baden – took the opportunity to discuss new technological developments and global trends. The International Engine Congress not only addressed the potential of the combustion engine, but also the topic of fuel and the prospects for e-fuels in the coming years.
Fast track to defossilisation
Professor Dr.-Ing. Peter Gutzmer, the long-standing scientific director of the congress, summed up the assessment of the assembled international engine community: ‘We need technological diversity to transfer our fossil-based energy system as quickly as possible into a CO2-neutral, globally re-networked energy and mobility network that ensures social prosperity and security of supply.’ The participants expect the government to make landmark decisions that provide investment security for alternative fuels. Gutzmer is convinced: ‘The combustion engine has a future – and we are shaping that future!’
Planning security for the automotive industry
Matthias Zink, President of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers CLEPA, took a similar position: in addition to consistently strengthening e-mobility, he advocated counting e-fuels towards fleet values and considering hydrogen technologies. He said that the EU needed an adapted phased plan with realistic targets for the automotive industry, especially in view of the tense economic situation and the job cuts in numerous supplier companies: ‘For this reason, I would like to see more planning security through a broader range of technologies, an adequate infrastructure and funding programmes that stimulate innovation.’ He is looking to Brussels with cautious optimism, as for the first time there is a willingness to engage in holistic discussions on this topic. He is supported by keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Andrea Wechsler (CDU), Member of the European Parliament. She is convinced that Europe must meet global political and industrial challenges with greater independence. She said that the framework conditions for this should be redefined in order to reduce dependencies on raw material and product supply chains.
More than 270 participants took the opportunity to exchange ideas in person in Baden-Baden.
Focus on life cycle analyses
Prof. Dr. Kulzer, Director of the Institute for Vehicle Technology Stuttgart (IFS), University of Stuttgart, outlined what climate-friendly mobility could look like in the future. He particularly advocated the inclusion of life cycle assessments in legislation. His credo: ‘We need joint efforts for climate and environmental protection and should work on all available technologies to achieve this – not least to maintain the German and European automotive industry.’ Winfried Mack, economic policy spokesperson for the CDU parliamentary group in Baden-Württemberg, emphasised: ‘We have to focus on what we can do in Germany and Europe – and that's engines.’
The potential of e-fuels
E-fuels can make a decisive contribution to limiting greenhouse gas emissions by enabling existing fleets to switch to a defossilised fuel in the shortest possible time. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Atzler, holder of the Professorship for Combustion Engines and Propulsion Technology at the TU Dresden, explained this position in his highly acclaimed lecture: ‘When it comes to defossilising the old fleet, we are talking about around 50 million vehicles in Germany alone – and over a billion vehicles worldwide.’ But here, too, politicians are called upon to make alternative fuels more attractive, for example, by means of tax breaks or discounts on truck tolls.
Exhibition and networking opportunities
The lecture programme was rounded off by a lively panel discussion, also on the topic of e-fuels, and by the annual accompanying exhibition, which presented innovative products and services. Opportunities for networking were provided, among other things, by the popular evening event for the engine community.
Platform for open and constructive exchange
The International Congress is organised by VDI Wissensforum and ATZlive and is regarded in the industry as the platform for open, controversial and forward-looking discussions about the mobility of tomorrow.
The 13th International Engine Congress will take place in Baden-Baden on 24 and 25 February 2026.
Registration and programme at www.motorenkongress.de or from VDI Wissensforum Kundenzentrum, Postfach 10 11 39, 40002 Düsseldorf, e-mail: wissensforum(at)vdi.de, telephone: +49 211 6214-201, fax: -154.
About VDI Wissensforum GmbH
We have been a partner in the further training of engineers and technical specialists and managers since 1957. We cover almost every technical discipline in more than 2,600 congresses, conferences, technology forums, courses and seminars every year. The area of soft skills and management rounds off our portfolio. More than 37,000 participants educate and train themselves with the help of our offers every year.
