New Delhi: Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said that the fuel of the future will be 100 per cent bio-ethanol. “Pollution has reduced post ethanol use. The aim is to curb the carbon footprint of vehicular traffic in the country and reduce our use of fossil fuel,” Gadkari said at a green and renewable energy presentation here.
Gadkari’s statement comes amid growing public discontent over the government’s E20 plan, i.e., to blend all petrol sold in the country with 20 per cent ethanol by 2025/26. The E20 plan is part of the government’s ethanol-blended petroleum programme to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and ensure cleaner vehicular emissions.
“India is one of the biggest and most important economies in the world and, consequently, also has one of the largest numbers of vehicles per capita. Only China and the United States have more motor vehicles per capita than India,” the minister pointed out in the event.
As ethanol blending averaged 12.06 per cent in 2022/23 and rose to 14.6 per cent the next year, by February this year, it had reached 19.6 per cent. The 20 per cent mark was crossed soon after. However, car owners across the country have voiced concern over the impact of the blended fuel on their vehicles, particularly older models whose engines may not be tuned for the fuel.
According to industry estimates, the fall in fuel efficiency is between one and two per cent for four-wheelers designed for 10 per cent ethanol blends, or E10, and calibrated for E20. This could increase to three to six per cent for other vehicles.
On concerns about potential engine corrosion, particularly in older cars and two-wheelers, the ministry said safety standards were already in place. Ethanol-compatible materials and corrosion inhibitors are mandated through specifications by the standards agencies.
However, the government said that the blended fuel programme is essential for cutting crude oil imports – a topic of particular concern amid increasingly unstable global geopolitics, dominated by US President Donald Trump’s outrageous 50 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
