India’s E85 fuel rollout: what it means for motorists

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Two-wheelers queued at a petrol pump in Thane, Maharashtra. | Photo Credit: PTI

With the E85 fuel launched at an Indian Oil retail outlet in New Delhi last week, the Union government is pushing ethanol blending in fuel as a means to reduce import cost in times of present West Asia crisis, and reduce the dependence of fossil fuel.

The Central Government’s aggressive push for higher ethanol blending also falls in consonance with India’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.

Till now, the rollout has commenced across 48 Public Sector retail outlets in the country, enabling flex-fuel vehicle users to access this cleaner fuel.

At the launch event of E85 fuel in New Delhi, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Ethanol blending has increased from 1.53% in 2014 to 20% today, with the target achieved five years ahead of schedule, he stated that this transformation has helped save over ₹1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange and substituted nearly 302 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil imports”. Ethanol blended petrol is also exempted from central excise duty,

At present, India accounts over 26 crore registered two-wheelers, making it the most dominant form of road transportation in the country. It is followed by approximately 50 lakh registered four-wheelers (including passenger cars, jeeps, taxis, and commercial goods carriers) on its roads.

Here, we break down the details surrounding E85 fuel and it’s cost impact:

The E85 and E100 are high-ethanol fuel blends, containing higher amount of anhydrous (water-free) ethanol. While E85 consists of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, E100 contains 93–95% ethanol. Moreover, E85 fuel is introduced for use in flex-fuel vehicles. The initiative aims to facilitate the adoption of Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), which are capable of operating on ethanol blends from E20 to E100, without restricting consumers to a single blend.

Aiming for nationwide expansion, the E85 fuel would be available across 500 retail stores by Decemb