E85 high-ethanol fuel goes on sale at 48 fuel stations

A day after the first flex-fuel car, the government rolled out E85 — 80–85% ethanol — at 48 outlets, priced about ₹20 a litre below petrol, scaling to 5,000 outlets by 2027.

What happened

• Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri launched E85 fuel at an IndianOil retail outlet in New Delhi on World Environment Day 2026.
• E85 is a high-ethanol blend comprising 80–85% ethanol and 14–19% petrol, designed specifically for use in Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) — which can run on anything from E20 to E100.
• The rollout begins across 48 public-sector OMC retail outlets, with CMDs of the public-sector oil marketing companies present.
• E85 is priced nearly ₹20 per litre lower than conventional petrol, passing on the benefit of domestically produced ethanol to consumers.
• The network is to be scaled up to 500 outlets by December 2026 and about 5,000 by December 2027, with nationwide expansion planned.
• The Minister framed it as 'India's produce, India's progress' — substituting imported oil with ethanol 'derived from the sweat and toil of Indian farmers'.

For Prelims

• What E85 is: a fuel that is 80–85% ethanol with the rest petrol — far higher than E20. It can only be used in Flex-Fuel Vehicles, whose engines tolerate variable ethanol blends (E20 to E100).
• The blend ladder: E20 (20% ethanol, India's 2025 milestone) → E85 (this launch, for FFVs) → E100 (near-pure ethanol). Each needs progressively more ethanol-tolerant engines and dedicated pumps.
• Why it's cheaper: ethanol is domestically produced (sugarcane, maize, surplus grain), so E85 is priced ~₹20/litre below petrol — though its energy density is lower, so mileage per litre is less (a fair caveat).
• The triple benefit: cuts crude imports (energy security/forex), raises farm incomes and lowers tailpipe emissions — the same availability–affordability–sustainability logic as the broader Ethanol Blended Petrol programme.
• Rollout numbers to hold: 48 → 500 (Dec 2026) → ~5,000 (Dec 2027) retail outlets.
• Who runs it: the public-sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) — IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL — under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Connects to: the previous day's launch of India's first flex-fuel passenger car — E85 is the fuel that makes such vehicles worthwhile.
• Context milestone: India achieved 20% ethanol blending (E20) in 2025, about five years ahead of target; E85/E100 are the next steps to push aggregate blending higher.

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