Hyderabad: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has challenged critics to produce evidence of any vehicle damaged by E20 fuel, dismissing concerns over the higher ethanol blend as part of a “concerted false narrative” on social media.
“Show me a single car that has suffered damage because of E20 fuel. What is being circulated on social media is part of a concerted false narrative,” Gadkari said in an interview with the Indian Express, amid a raging debate over the fuel blend’s impact on vehicle performance.
The minister, however, acknowledged that mileage could see a marginal dip as ethanol content in fuel increases, since the calorific value of ethanol is lower than that of petrol. He said mileage also depends heavily on driving conditions, particularly in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, where vehicles largely run in lower gears due to stop-and-go traffic.
“In stop-and-go traffic from Delhi to Gurugram, you are constantly braking. Your speed barely goes above 40-50 kmph before you hit a red light. However, if you drive at a continuous speed of 100 kmph, you may see some difference,” he said, citing an ARAI report that found no mileage efficiency issues for vehicles built with flex-fuel engines.
Adulterated fuel, not ethanol, cause for engine damage: Gadkari
On claims of engine damage, Gadkari said companies asked to investigate such instances had found adulterated fuel to be the actual cause. He added that older vehicles’ metal washers, prone to wear, have now been replaced with rubber ones, with manufacturers instructed to swap them free of cost during servicing.
Gadkari said nearly a dozen automakers, including Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hyundai, Toyota Kirloskar and Maruti Suzuki, are readying flex-fuel models, pointing to Brazil’s use of a 27 per cent ethanol-petrol blend since 1970 without reported issues in Honda and Hyundai vehicles. He said the goal is to offer consumers multiple fuel blends at different price points, with ethanol currently priced at around Rs 75 per litre.
Methanol blend
Calling indigenous fuel the only way to curb oil imports, Gadkari said the West Asian crisis underscored the need to explore all alternatives to fossil fuel imports. He cited a Karnataka pilot in which Ashok Leyland ran 25 buses on a 15 per cent methanol-diesel blend for three months without problems, following which the company developed a dedicated methanol engine.
He said Assam Petro-Chemicals currently produces 700 tonnes of methanol daily at Rs 20-22 per litre, against diesel priced at around Rs 110, and suggested methanol could power buses and trucks in the Northeast as well as marine engines on the Brahmaputra.
Gadkari also flagged iso-butanol, derived from ethanol, as a diesel alternative for tractors, harvesters and construction equipment, noting that Kirloskar Group has successfully tested generator sets running on both iso-butanol and ethanol.
“We do not want foreign fuel or imports, as we currently import Rs 2 lakh crore of fossil fuels, and much of the pollution is caused by them,” he said, adding that construction equipment could also be electrified.
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