Transport turnaround: German Armed Forces to be climate-neutral by 2045

By the end of the decade, Germany wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent compared to 1990. The Federal Government is to work on reducing emissions across all sectors, and not only in industry or road transport. Even the Ministry of Defence, and thus also the Bundeswehr, must play their part in the transport turnaround. According to the will of the traffic light government, the German military is to become climate-neutral by 2045.  

To achieve this, the federal government has some, but not too many, options for implementing the mobility turnaround. E-tanks, for example, are currently excluded from the Bundeswehr's strategy of phasing out internal combustion engines, for example because problems with range or increased charging stops in combat are to be avoided at all costs. Nevertheless - explains Prof. Stefan Bayer, Vice President of the German Institute of Defence Science and Strategic Studies (GIDS) - it is necessary that the military also makes its contribution to achieving the climate goals. Also for the Bundeswehr itself out of its own interest. If the Ministry of Defence intervenes too late in the mobility transition, mission vehicles with internal combustion engines will eventually no longer be able to run for lack of fossil fuels. If, on the other hand, it switches to green drives too early, the necessary infrastructure could be underdeveloped - or even missing.  

In this sense, hydrogen technology and fuel cell drives could be the key to moving away from combustion engines. This is what GIDS is researching on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.  This could soon change the Bundeswehr's military vehicle fleet. While the energy requirements of a tank or a military aircraft are currently still too high to be supported by a fuel cell drive, other vehicles weighing up to 12 tonnes could be converted to hydrogen in the coming years. "Armoured vehicles with hydrogen solutions are quite conceivable. We are not that far away there." - Bayer explains. 

At the same time, the Bundeswehr must also save more CO2 in the civilian sector. The corresponding vehicle fleet here comprises about 20,000 vehicles, most of which are to be "replaced with battery-electric vehicles by 2030" as part of the army's plans for civilian mobility. As with the combat vehicles, the use of hydrogen engines is one of the options the government will pursue. Unlike in combat, however, electric mobility can also play a role in the sustainable design of civilian Bundeswehr mobility. Other propulsion alternatives, such as e-fuels, are out of the question. 

Nevertheless, the Bundeswehr could still be dependent on fossil fuels for a long time to come. The fact that research is being conducted at all in this direction, namely to make military vehicles operate more greenly, is good news. Especially for the environment, as it suffers from the effects of pollutants in the air and the corresponding global warming in times of war as well as peace. And who knows, maybe tanks too will be electric in the future - and like many other vehicles will be subject to stricter emission standards.