India is launching on Friday a new fuel blend with an 85% ethanol component as part of the fuel flex mobility program of the world’s third-largest crude importer to reduce dependence on imported oil.
The E85 fuel was officially launched at a ceremony in New Delhi in the presence of India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri.
On Thursday, Puri launched India’s first flex-fuel passenger vehicle by Maruti Suzuki in New Delhi. Flex-fuel vehicles can operate on a range of ethanol–petrol blends, from E20 up to E100.
India now has the capability to produce ethanol from multiple feedstock sources such as broken grains, agricultural waste, bamboo, and sea weed, the oil minister said.
NITI Aayog, the government’s think tank, officially classifies ethanol-based Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), including vehicles running on high ethanol blends such as E85, as Zero-Emission Vehicles.
E85 fuel also produces near-zero particulate matter (PM) emissions, making flex-fuel vehicles a promising solution for addressing the country’s growing air pollution challenge, the government said on Thursday.
“Flex Fuel Vehicles offer India a practical solution to reduce crude oil imports, strengthen the rural economy through ethanol demand, and advance low-carbon mobility,” Puri said during the Launch of Hero MotoCorp’s First Flex-Fuel Motorcycle in New Delhi this week.
India, which depends on Middle East’s oil supply for nearly 50% of its crude imports, has scrambled to diversify its purchases in recent months, including by boosting Russian imports to record highs amid U.S. waivers for Russian oil loaded on tankers.
The world’s most populous country has been suffering from the crisis, which has crippled not only its crude supplies, but also those of the main cooking fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Oil marketing companies in India have raised fuel prices for the fourth time in less than a month, after holding off on price hikes for two months after the war began.
India’s economic pains are intensifying every day that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. One of the highest-performing emerging markets in recent years is scrambling to contain the oil shock that is spreading to consumer prices, foreign exchange reserves, current accounts, and economic growth.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com