Focus Now on Flex-Fuel Vehicles, Increasing Ethanol Blend: PMO's Tarun Kapoor

After achieving 20% ethanol blend in petrol, the focus is now on flex-fuel vehicles and increasing the ethanol blend in gasoline beyond 20%, as the country looks to expand the use of biofuels and address concerns over excess ethanol production capacity, according to PMO Advisor Tarun Kapoor.

India has reached the E20 stage, with ethanol making up 20% in petrol sold in the country, Kapoor said. He described the programme as a "success" despite criticism on its impact on vehicles which are not compatible for E20 fuel.

“Up to E20 it's been very successful. Now our focus is on going into flex-fuel vehicles and allowing blending at a percentage which should be higher than E20 and it has to be on flex-fuel vehicles,” Kapoor said in his address at India Sugar and Bio Energy Conference organised by India Sugar Manufacturers Association. 

Several motor vehicle companies have announced plans to introduce flex-fuel vehicles and their launch could help drive higher use of ethanol in the transport sector.

“I am happy to learn that several motor vehicle companies have announced that they are going to come out with flexible vehicles very soon and so we should see good numbers in the market,” Kapoor said.

The availability of higher ethanol blends or pure ethanol fuel at petrol stations would also need to expand alongside the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles, he said.

“Supply of pure enthanol or whatever, maybe some additive has to be added to it, should also happen quite soon. There are some petrol stations where it is already available, but it has to be expanded now, but it has to go hand in hand with availability of flexible vehicles.”

Kapoor said ethanol production had exceeded expectations, prompting the government to explore new uses for the fuel and related products.

“Now the production is more than that, probably it's more than what we actually need for blending, but then probably we have to look for more uses of ethanol in various forms,” he said.

The government is also looking at expanding the market for ethanol beyond transportation, including cooking and industrial applications, Kapoor said.

“We are very keen that we are able to expand the market as much as possible so that this overcapacity issue is resolved at the earliest time,” he said.

Kapoor also addressed criticism of E20, saying studies and experiments had found that the blend worked well. While fuel efficiency could decline to some extent, he said this was offset by the fuel's higher octane rating.

“E20 is quite good and works very well, maybe a little bit of fuel efficiency declines somewhere, but it gets compensated with higher octane,” he said.

India also needs to find biofuel products that can be used in diesel, Kapoor said, pointing to experiments involving isobutanol as a potential new avenue for deploying biofuels in large quantities.