Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the 20 percent ethanol gasoline, kicking off the India Energy Week in Bengaluru. The launch was done two months ahead of the scheduled rollout in April. The E20 fuel will now be available at select petrol pumps in 11 states and Union territories.
“We have increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.5 percent (in 2014) to 10 per cent and are now progressing towards 20 per cent,” PM Modi said during the launch, The Hindu reported.
The E20 fuel will be made available across the country in a phased manner in the coming months to encourage the use of biofuels, cut emissions and reduce dependence on foreign exchange-draining imports.
What is E20 fuel?
The “20’ in “E20” indicates a 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent petrol blend in the fuel. The higher the number, the higher will be the proportion of ethanol in petrol and since ethanol is a cleaner fuel than petrol, a blend of both cuts pollution in the environment.
Since ethanol is made from biomass, it does not need crude oil and is mostly derived from crops like corn and sugarcane. India already produces substantial amounts of grain and sugarcane thus there is an abundance of biomass available to produce ethanol indigenously.
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Currently, India uses the E10 fuel or fuel with 10 percent, which is higher than it has ever been.
However, due to the differing characteristics, a normal petrol car can’t function on high ethanol blend fuel such as the E20 fuel as the engines will need to be modified.
What vehicles can use the E20 Fuel?
As of now, there aren’t many cars on Indian roads that can run on E20 fuel. Cars like the Hyundai Creta, Venue, and Alcazar SUVs are said to be capable of running on E20 gasoline as of the 2023 MY model year.
Tata Motors unveiled two turbocharged petrol engines at the Auto Expo 2023 -- the 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre engines. Tata has stated that all its vehicles that are more than four metres in length will soon be equipped with E20 fuel-compatible engines.
Other manufacturers like Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Kia, and more are also planning to introduce similar developments by April 2023, according to an Economic Times report.
What are the advantages of E20 Fuel?
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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