India has made a major step towards alternative fuel use when it introduced the country's first public E85 fuel dispensing station at an Indian Oil outlet on Delhi's Pusa Road. The new fuel is priced at Rs 82.12 a litre (about Rs 20 cheaper than the current petrol price of Rs 102.12 a litre in the capital), in a move that will have little effect on most drivers at first but is a significant step in the development of ethanol-based fuels and flex-fuel vehicles.
Higher ethanol blends such as E85 have been debated for years among policymakers, automobile manufacturers and energy experts. With the launch of this fuel pump, E85 has finally emerged from presentations and pilot projects and is available to the public. The development is viewed as a key step in India's overall strategy to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and increase the use of locally produced biofuels.
Unlike the currently widely available E20 fuel (20 per cent ethanol, which can be used in many newer vehicles), E85 has a much higher concentration of ethanol. It is therefore designed for flex-fuel vehicles that run on different ethanol-petrol blends. Regular petrol-powered vehicles are not built to run on E85, so compatibility of the fuel is of critical importance.
The launch of the E85 pump comes at a moment of interest. Just a day after India's first flex-fuel passenger car was unveiled, the infrastructure that is needed to support such vehicles has been laid out. Flex-fuel vehicles are still less popular in India, but the availability of E85 fuel signals the ecosystem in which this can be taken forward.
The Pusa Road station is more than a fuel depot to industry observers. It is a stage in the Indian transportation and energy ecosystem in which alternative fuels could play a larger role in reducing emissions and in boosting energy security. E85 pumps are unlikely to be ubiquitous overnight, but the opening of the first public dispensing station shows that the transition to a higher ethanol mix is on track.
E85 is also priced lower than petrol, so the price of E85 may eventually be an attractive option, as more flex-fuel vehicles enter the market. For the fuel industry and policymakers, the launch is an indication that ethanol-blending programmes are moving beyond goals and policy statements to reality.
The first E85 fuel pump will be a visible symbol of the way in which India is moving toward a more sustainable transportation model and how it is going to be able to do it.
