India launches E85 fuel for fle fuel vehicles, priced Rs 20 lower per litre than petrol - Moneycontrol.com
E85 contains 80-85 per cent ethanol and 14-19 per cent petrol and is designed specifically for fle fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol blends
E85 contains 80-85 per cent ethanol and 14-19 per cent petrol and is designed specifically for fle fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100. The fuel has been priced nearly Rs 20 per litre lower than conventional petrol. India has increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent currently, achieving its target five years ahead of schedule India launches E85, a high-ethanol fuel, on World Environment Day E85 is Rs 20 cheaper than petrol and for fle fuel vehicles only Ethanol blending rose from 1.53% in 2014 to 20% in 2024 Did our AI summary help? India launched E85, a high-ethanol blended fuel, on Friday, marking a new step in its efforts to reduce dependence on imported crude oil and expand the use of cleaner, domestically produced fuels. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched the fuel at an Indian Oil Corporation retail outlet in New Delhi on the occasion of World Environment Day 2026. The rollout has begun at 48 public sector oil marketing company fuel stations and will be expanded nationwide in phases.
E85 contains 80-85 per cent ethanol and 14-19 per cent petrol and is designed specifically for fle fuel vehicles that can run on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100. The fuel has been priced nearly Rs 20 per litre lower than conventional petrol. The launch comes as India seeks to increase ethanol consumption beyond its existing E20 programme. According to Puri, India currently has ethanol production capacity of 19 billion litres, while the existing blending programme consumes about 11.5 billion litres. Speaking at the event, Puri said India has successfully balanced the "Energy Trilemma" of energy availability, affordability and sustainability while ensuring stable fuel supplies. Highlighting the growth of ethanol blending, he said it has increased from 1.53 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent currently, achieving the target five years ahead of schedule. He added that the programme has helped save more than Rs 1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange and reduced crude oil imports substantially. "This transformation has helped save over Rs 1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange and substituted nearly 302 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil imports. This has been driven by the contribution of India’s farmers, who have evolved from being the country’s 'Annadatas' to becoming its 'Urjadatas' as well," Puri said.
The government plans to expand E85 availability to 500 retail outlets by December 2026 and around 5,000 outlets by December 2027. The move is expected to help raise India's overall ethanol blending levels to nearly 26 per cent by 2030-31. Puri also sought to address concerns around ethanol-blended fuels, saying E85 is intended only for specially designed fle fuel vehicles and that there has been no reported case of engine failure linked to E20 fuel since it became the national standard. The minister said fle fuel vehicles could provide a competitive alternative to electric vehicles due to their lower acquisition costs and ability to use existing fuel infrastructure, while supporting domestic ethanol production. According to ministry estimates, fle fuel vehicles running on E85 can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by around 61 per cent compared with conventional petrol vehicles. Ethanol's higher octane rating also enables improved engine performance and cleaner combustion with significantly lower particulate emissions. Puri said that if half of all new two-wheelers and passenger vehicles sold in India shift to fle fuel technology, annual ethanol demand could rise by more than 312 crore litres, generating roughly Rs 12,403 crore in additional income for farmers.
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