Government To ARAI: Study Impact Of E25 Petrol On Existing Cars, 2 Wheelers
The Indian government is intensifying its push for higher Ethanol blending. It has now reportedly tasked the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to conduct a study on the impact of E25 fuel on existing vehicles, indicating E25 could be the next target. According to a report in Times of India (TOI), the ARAI will study E25’s impact on engines- particularly their mileage, engine health and long-term performance.
This move is part of the government’s broader plans of reducing crude oil imports. India completed the rollout of E20 (20% Ethanol blended) petrol in April this year. Now, it wants to increase blending beyond E20.
According to the TOI report, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), at an inter-ministerial meeting last week, informed that adding 1% more ethanol to petrol won’t be an issue. “But considering that increasing the blending to 25% will be a significant jump, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) will now conduct the study using vehicles that are E10 and E20 compliant,”- an official reportedly told the publication.
The objective is clear. Authorities want to understand how higher ethanol content affects fuel efficiency, engine wear, emissions and overall ownership costs before making a nationwide shift. India now has a surplus supply of Ethanol and the same could be putting pressure on authorities to increase blending.
Since E25 is a significant leap upward, vehicles will be tested extensively. According to best practices, these (E10 and E20 vehicles) will need to be tested for 60,000 and 70,000 kilometres. Their life, performance, emission, and upfront and recurring costs will be assessed.
According to the report, the petroleum ministry has already recommended reducing GST on E85 (85% Ethanol blended petrol) or higher ethanol fuels from 15% to 5%. This would encourage automakers to develop and introduce more flex-fuel (vehicles that run on E85 or higher blends) models in the near term.
A report had surfaced previously, suggesting that Ethanol blending in petrol could reach 25% in a ‘calibrated manner’. It, however, had no names, no timelines and no official statements, to pin the claim to. This, we believe, was to gauge public reactions and take a policy decision accordingly.
The pattern itself is familiar and we had talked in detail about it in our previous story. If the government is now moving forward with the decision, it could mean that the reaction to that report was rather muted.
A transition to E25 fuel won’t likely go easy on existing E10 and E20 engines. The E25 proposal has made automakers sound alarms. Representatives from the Ministry of Heavy Industries previously met executives from the apex body of automobile manufacturers to discuss the topic.
If the baseline shifts to E25, the combustion characteristics inside the engine will change, which automakers worry, may lead to engine failures and even the vehicles flunking in real-world emission tests.
Running a non-compliant engine on higher Ethanol blends will cause increased wear of engine components and fuel lines and a drop in performance and fuel efficiency over time.
All these have made the public concerned over the development. The tests by ARAI are supposed to reassure them on the matter. For this, the findings, and metrics like the distance and engines tested will have to be made accessible to the public, in a transparent way.
It should be mentioned here that ARAI had previously refused to reveal the test results of E20 study, even after a man filed an RTI (Right To Information) request seeking details on the adverse effects of E20 fuel on vehicle engines.