Nitin Gadkari recently addressed the Rotary District conference and has mentioned valuable information about the way flex-fuel is going to be important for the automotive industry in the coming years. We had previously covered the article about flex fuels on our website. Do read that article to understand what flex fuels are and also then you can get a better understanding of why they are so important to our current fuel situation.
The latest news about flex-fuel is that the government brings forward a target of 20% ethanol fuel mix for 2025. As of now, India is currently running on 5% ethanol blended petrol officially but according to Nitin Gadkari, it is said to around 8.5%. Most of the modern vehicles after the 2000s are ready to run ethanol fuel mixes up to 20%.
Nitin Gadkari in his conference stated that his ministry will come up with a decision to ask the auto industry to switch to more cost-effective fuels. This includes manufacturers making engines that can run flex fuels. In the virtual conference, Nitin Gadkari said, “I am transport minister, I am going to issue an order to industry, that only petrol engines will not be there, there will be flex-fuel engines, where there will be a choice for people that they can use 100 % crude oil or 100 % ethanol. I am going to decide within 10 days and we will make it mandatory for the automobile industry.“
He also added that ethanol will help to manage the fuel prices that have crossed Rs 100 per litre. The ethanol mixed fuel will save up to Rs 35 per litre. He also mentioned how India can benefit as a country that produces surplus grains that could be used for the production of ethanol.
This new plan of the Indian government to increase ethanol as a way to cut pollution and reduce the oil import bill could cause a sugar reform in India. This ethanol program will lead the government to end sugar export subsidies. This will also erase the export table sugar volumes from the country. As the demand for fuel will also increase there will be a higher need for ethanol mixed fuel. It is reported that by 2030 the country will need to produce 13 billion litres of ethanol to meet E20 fuel regulations. This will directly result in 10 million tonnes of sugar production.
The only downside of using ethanol or that it is more corrosive than petrol and certain parts of the vehicle will need replacement faster than while using regular petrol. If you want to know more about ethanol as well as flex-fuel engines do let us know in the comments below. If you have car buying doubts click here to ask! Get the lowest price for car insurance here. For more such content stay subscribed to MotorOctane Youtube, Google News Facebook and Twitter. Also, follow us on Flipboard and Reddit where we have a discussion community.