The Indian government is set to roll out E85, a higher ethanol-blended petrol, by the year-end to reduce costly oil imports. This move follows consultations with Indian automobile manufacturers, who have confirmed they can produce vehicles capable of running on elevated ethanol blends.
E85 petrol contains 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, and flex-fuel vehicles can run on any mixture of ethanol and petrol from E20 to E100. Consumers will have a choice of what cars they buy according to the level of blended fuel they prefer.
India aims to put in place a biofuels policy that will provide for multiple petrol mixes at petrol stations. The Bureau of Indian Standards has already prepared norms for E85 petrol, and blenders and refiners will have to comply with these specifications.
The decision to kick off the E85 programme follows a series of meetings with automobile manufacturers and ethanol producers. Indian distillers currently have a combined capacity to produce 20 billion litres of ethanol, against present demand of about 10 billion litres.
Automobile companies are ready to launch flex-fuel cars, which emit far less carbon. The Modi government had in 2021 advanced the target of mixing petrol with 20% ethanol by five years to 2025, and that target was achieved in July last year.
