Govt clears way for E100 petrol: What it means for motorists

Carmakers are expected to roll out E100 models within months.

New Delhi: The Union government on Monday, October 26, cleared the way for cars that run on almost pure ethanol, notifying changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules that bring E100 fuel into the country’s emission norms alongside E85.

But motorists shouldn’t head to the pump just yet. The rules cover only vehicles built and certified for high-ethanol fuel. The petrol car you have, approved for E20 (20 per cent ethanol), cannot be filled with E85 or E100, officials said.

“This notification doesn’t require owners of existing vehicles to switch to E85 or modify their vehicles either at present or in future,” an official said.

The Road Transport Ministry’s move comes about six months after it put out the draft rules for public comment in April. Carmakers are expected to roll out E100 models within months. Toyota, Tata Motors and Hyundai are among the companies developing flex-fuel vehicles for the Indian market.

Apart from the fuel provisions, the ministry has revised vehicle classification thresholds, fuel specifications and technical references in emission tables and testing provisions. The weight limit for light petrol and diesel vehicles covered by the changes has been raised to 3,500 kg from 3,000 kg.

The draft had also sought to widen the use of B100 biodiesel and hydrogen-CNG blends.

Eye on the oil bill

The ethanol push is about crude oil. India imports most of the oil it consumes and that import bill is one of the biggest drivers of its current account deficit. The US-Iran conflict has left the country exposed to an energy crunch, so the government is looking for every litre of petrol it can replace with homegrown ethanol. 

Officials said higher ethanol blends also cut tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide and certain hydrocarbons, and that ethanol has a lower fossil carbon footprint than petrol.

Flex-fuel vehicles, widely used in Brazil and the US, run on varying mixes of ethanol and petrol from a single tank. To handle high-ethanol fuel, they need compatible fuel pumps, pipes, seals and injectors. The engine control unit also has to be calibrated to adjust the air-fuel mix and ignition timing.

Maruti Suzuki launched India’s first flex-fuel passenger car, a version of the Wagon R, in June. Priced at Rs 7.24 lakh and sold only for commercial use, it is rated for blends of up to E85, according to reports.

Here’s the catch

Ethanol carries less energy than petrol. The US Department of Energy estimates that E100 has about 30 per cent less energy per gallon, which means fewer kilometres per litre. Cheaper fuel at the pump will not necessarily mean cheaper driving.

There are bigger questions too. Producing ethanol at scale needs land and water, and sugarcane, a key feedstock, is a thirsty crop. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that crop-based biofuels can affect land use, biodiversity and food prices.

Nor is ethanol emission-free. Whether it actually cuts greenhouse gases depends on how it is grown, produced and transported.

(With PTI inputs)