Flex fuel for India’s energy independence

 

Graphic based on an article by Vipin Labroo. Visuals generated with AI assistance.

India’s huge dependence on fossil fuel imports more often than not makes it strategically vulnerable to geo strategic headwinds. Add to that the fact that the environmental damage caused by excessive reliance on such a source of energy is visibly manifest in increasing incidence of extreme weather incidents, isn't it time that India found an alternative to fossil fuels real fast so that it can inure itself against having to depend upon an unreliable source of fuel, often used as a tool of strategic blackmail by foreign powers? That such an alternative source of energy would be easier on the environment would be the icing on the cake.

​

What are the alternatives available to India in this regard? Promoting the use of electric vehicles is certainly on the cards, but one has to remember that the matching infrastructure has to come up fast. One also has to, however, bear in mind that if the power used to charge EVs does not come from a non-polluting source, we will not really be addressing the environmental issue in the best possible way

​

Using flex fuel, which is a mixture of petrol and ethanol in varying proportions, is emerging as a viable and practical way of reducing one’s dependence on unreliable fossil fuel imports. What makes it very viable is the fact that ethanol is a by product of the process that converts sugarcane to sugar. It can also be made from surplus and damaged grain like rice, corn and other kinds of cereals. Given the size of the Indian agricultural sector, this is something that can be seriously looked at as a source of easily available bio fuel or flex fuel.

​

Brazil, another major sugarcane producer, has long been held as the model to emulate when it comes to bio fuel or flex fuel adoption. In the aftermath of the oil shock of the 1970s, Brazil decided to start using ethanol in a major way to cut down on its reliance on fossil fuels to power its cars. In fact, cars in Brazil used to run on 100 percent ethanol right till the 2000s, when they  began to use flex fuel, and today it is common to find vehicles fueling up on flex fuel ranging from E27 (27 percent ethanol and 73 percent petrol) right through varying combinations -E30, E50 and E75 to E100. People generally opt for a combination based on the prevailing prices of petrol and ethanol.

​

India achieved the E20 (20 percent ethanol and 80 percent petrol) blending target five years ahead of schedule in 2025, marking an important milestone in the nation’s flex fuel journey. Giving a further fillip to this journey towards widespread flex fuel adoption, leading Indo-Japanese car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki have announced the launch of a true blue flex fuel variant of their popular Wagon R model that is capable of running on any ethanol- petrol combination ranging from E20 all the way till E100.

​

In anticipation of a growing demand for flex-fuel cars, the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation has already opened an E85 fuel dispensing petrol pump in Delhi, a first among many such pumps that are expected to open in major urban centres. What is interesting is the fact that the price of E85 has been kept 20 percent lower than the price of the E20 fuel sold at regular Indian petrol pumps.

​

As more and more car manufacturers come out with flex fuel compatible vehicles and the availability of blended E85 and even E100 fuel becomes more commonplace, we may begin to see the start of a bona fide transition from relying exclusively on hard to come by fossil fuel to fuel we can practically  grow on our land. The sooner that happens, the better it is for us, as we can't wait for another global  oil crisis to hold our economy and people to ransom. The world can have its geostrategic wrangles while we look contentedly at our crops of sugarcane and breathe a sigh of relief!

Affiliate Link Below-

https://amzn.to/4xsosxV

​

India’s tryst with ethanol

When I was in school, I learned about how Brazil transitioned to largely using ethanol-blended fuel for its automobiles, as it could source it from sugarcane, which grows in abundance in Brazil. Given that India has always relied excessively on imported petroleum products to power its automobiles, I had wondered then why India, which, along with Brazil, is among the top two sugarcane-growing nations in the world, shouldn’t follow suit?  Doing so would not only have shaved off billions from India’s import bill, but it would also have made it less susceptible to geo-strategic blackmail like the one it finds itself subject to on account of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

​While India is trying to pivot away from its reliance on imported oil by stepping up domestic oil exploration and encouraging the widespread adoption of EV technology, it is in leveraging its natural advantage of being home to one of the largest agriculture-based economies in the world and making a move to biofuels like ethanol that it may find true energy security. While oil is messy, polluting, expensive, and causes global warming, the EV industry is heavily reliant on Chinese imports, making it a potential security nightmare. Besides, EVs or electric vehicles are non-polluting only if the electricity used to charge them is produced in a non-polluting way. With most of India’s power plants being coal-powered, going for large-scale adoption of EVs might not help fight the raging pollution levels across the Indian urban landscape. The advantages of using ethanol are many. These include, among other things, better engine performance, higher fuel efficiency, and the kicker being ensuring the energy security of the nation.

Photo by Atlantic Ambience

​India’s ethanol journey

 India embarked on an Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme in the early 2000s and has gradually enhanced the ethanol component in the fuel mixture from 5% to the present 20%. A 10% target was achieved five months early in June 2022, and an even more impressive 20% target was achieved by July 2025, an incredible five years ahead of schedule. The government caught on with the potential of using ethanol as a game changer at a particularly fortuitous time, given how global warming is having a visible impact across the length and breadth of India, and the tumultuous global geo-strategic landscape is impacting the nation’s ability to secure its energy needs.

​

The Path Ahead

One of the biggest hurdles in the adoption of ethanol-blended fuel in India is the large number of old vehicles that may not be entirely suited to running efficiently on it. The newer vehicles have no such issues. As a matter of fact, automobile manufacturers in the country should look at making flexible fuel vehicles like they have for years in Brazil, capable of running on variable proportions of a petrol-ethanol blend. Brazil even has vehicles that run on pure ethanol, comprising 95% ethanol and 5% water.

​It is heartening that major Indian automobile companies have stepped up to the plate with their plans to foray into the exciting world of flexible fuel vehicles. With the government planning to extend the same incentives that it extended to EV manufacturers to flexi-fuel vehicle manufacturers soon, the future for rapid adoption of such automobiles seems to be quite bright. In the meantime, it is important that the required fuel dispensing infrastructure be developed and people be made aware of the benefits of using flexible fuel vehicles, also known as FFVs.

​Making a move to an ethanol-blended fuel dispensation does have its critics, who argue that the fuel is not compatible with a large number of old vehicles used in the country. Then there is the whole argument about the diversion of food crops like rice and maize towards ethanol production, which might impact the hard-fought-for food security of the nation. Other possible problems could be in the shape of using sugarcane and other water-intensive crops in the manufacturing of ethanol.

​However, given the vastness of India and the natural resources it possesses, these are not deal breakers, and solutions can be worked out that adequately address these concerns. India’s tryst with ethanol has been a fruitful one, and continuing down this path will help the nation secure its energy needs for all times to come.

​