Government ponders E10 petrol for 2021
Problems with compatibility likely to be dismissed in desperate scrabble for lower CO2 targets
This is nothing new. The UK has considered switching to E10 fuel previously. It has consulted on the subject before - and ultimately done nothing. The increased level of interest in the new grade has cropped up again because the government has become almost feverish in its attempts to reduce transport-based CO2 emissions. Shifting to 10 per cent bioethanol in unleaded petrol would, it says, result in the absorption of more CO2 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the tailpipe by as much as two per cent - equating to the removal of 350,000 vehicles from UK roads.
A win-win as far as sustaining petrol power for a few more years, you might think - and a quick-fix solution to an emissions problem that's only being exacerbated by the growing demand for heavy, blunt-faced SUVs. But engines not designed to run on this higher concentration of ethanol risk serious internal damage - an issue which helped stall the previously mooted introduction of E10. The question of whether or not older cars are safe to run on the higher mix is one of the reasons the fuel hasn't been fully rolled out in Germany, where E5 is still offered at the pumps.
This would continue in the UK - but only in super-unleaded grades. Fine if you're happy to pay the premium - but not much fun if you simply run an older model which isn't configured to deal with E10. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association has a list of the models that can and can't function - and the number in the latter camp is surprisingly high, including several common, modern variants.
The government breezily dismisses this fact, and says that most of these cars will soon be economically unviable anyway. It also downplays the controversial effect bioethanol has on farming, notably the displacement of land which would otherwise be used for the production of food. Indulging an even breezier tone, it predicts a boost in business for farmers, particularly those in the north east of England. Well, that's that sorted then.
Naturally all this is aimed at solving the unsolvable problem of how to neutralise the UK's production of greenhouse gases by 2050, and follows on from the breeziest strategy of all - new cars becoming electric-only from 2035 onwards. That subject has already presented the industry with many, many polite points of discussion. This will add a few more. Get consulting below.
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