If you are also troubled by the rising prices of petrol, then there may be some good news for you in the coming time. The government is now preparing to bet big on a fuel that will be much cheaper than petrol and will also increase the country’s existing ethanol production capacity. We are talking about E85 fuel, which contains a mixture of up to 85 percent ethanol. The government is actively working on strategies to keep its price low, increase the network of fuel stations across the country and encourage the adoption of flex-fuel vehicles. Hero’s new flex-fuel motorcycles and Maruti’s flex-fuel Wagon R are being considered as harbingers of this big change.
Actually, the central government is preparing to implement E85 fuel on a large scale. Today, Maruti Suzuki introduced a new flex-fuel variant of its popular family car, the Maruti Wagon R. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said, “E85 fuel will be much cheaper than normal petrol.” He further informed that this fuel will be used only in those vehicles which have been made compatible with E85. The government is currently working on making policies that will make it easier and economically beneficial for the common people to adopt this new fuel.
Puri commented, “At present, there are about 30 crore two-wheelers and about 37 lakh passenger vehicles on India’s roads. When the use of flex-fuel starts on a large scale in these vehicles, its impact will be profound. The increased use of flex-fuel vehicles can significantly increase ethanol consumption in the country.” According to the Union Minister, if 50 percent of the new vehicles sold are equipped with flex-fuel technology, the demand for ethanol could increase to about 4 billion litres. This initiative will not only promote the development of alternative fuels but will also play an important role in reducing the country’s dependence on fuel imports.
What is E85 fuel, and why is it special? E85 is a special type of fuel which contains a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petrol. This fuel can only be used in flex-fuel vehicles, which are specifically designed to run on higher ethanol blends. It is expected that the government will soon release draft rules related to E85. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed changes to the existing rules to enable adoption of alternative fuels like E85, E100, biodiesel and hydrogen-CNG.
The government is also planning to increase the availability of E85 fuel. Initially, 50 to 100 E85 fuel stations will be commissioned in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridor. After this, the target is to increase this network to about 500 stations by December this year. The government aims to install about 5,000 E85 fuel stations in major cities of the country by the end of 2027.
**Progress of flex-fuel vehicles**
With this initiative of the government, automakers have also started introducing flex-fuel models. Hero MotoCorp recently introduced flex-fuel variants of its Splendor Plus and HF Deluxe motorcycles. These motorcycles are capable of running on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E85. The HF Deluxe Flex Fuel is priced at ₹72,792, while the Splendor+ Flex Fuel is priced at ₹82,710 (ex-showroom).
Apart from this, Maruti Suzuki introduced its WagonR Flex Fuel car today. The vehicle is being hailed as the country’s first flex-fuel passenger car. Powered by the company’s 1.2-litre K12N petrol engine, the car is designed to run on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E85. Initially, it will be available only to fleet operators and cab aggregator companies like Ola and Uber. Later, the company can also launch it as a personal vehicle.