Industry experts and automobile manufacturers on Saturday sought to dispel concerns over the use of E20 ethanol-blended petrol, asserting that the fuel has undergone extensive scientific testing, is safe for both new and older vehicles, and will play a crucial role in strengthening India's energy security, supporting farmers and reducing carbon emissions.
Addressing a press conference, experts said India's ethanol blending programme was implemented through a phased, science-based approach involving extensive consultations with automakers, testing agencies and other stakeholders before its nationwide rollout. They said the country achieved its target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by December 2025 - five years ahead of schedule.
Former Engineers India Limited Chairman and Managing Director Vartika Shukla said the E20 programme was the outcome of years of scientific evaluation rather than a sudden policy decision.
"This ethanol blending in petrol has not been done overnight, it is a measured, scientifically driven step-by-step process," she said.
Shukla said ethanol blending in petrol increased from around 1.5 per cent in 2013-14 to 20 per cent by December 2025. She said the programme was backed by "scientific evidence, extensive testing" by automotive manufacturers, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and follows practices adopted in countries such as the US, Brazil, Canada and Germany.
She added that ethanol blending has helped lower crude oil imports, reducing India's vulnerability during recent geopolitical disruptions.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head and Executive Vice President (Corporate Affairs and Governance) Vikram Gulati said E20 is now the standard fuel and is compatible with both existing and new vehicles.
"E20 is the standard fuel that will be available and it is compatible with old vehicles and new vehicles," he said, adding that all vehicles sold after April 1, 2023, are fully materially compliant with E20.
He clarified that higher ethanol blends such as E85 and E100 are not intended for regular passenger vehicles and would require flex-fuel technology.
Gulati said the ethanol programme was originally conceived to address India's structural energy deficit.
"India has always been energy deficient. We import huge amounts of crude, which has a very negative impact on our economy. It also has a negative impact on the environment and also we are susceptible to any disruption in supply," he said, referring to recent supply concerns arising from the West Asia crisis.
He said the programme gathered momentum after 2018 when the government linked it to addressing agrarian distress by utilising surplus agricultural produce.
"Farmers will produce sugarcane, farmers will produce rice... when you produce this in excess, it's going waste," he said.
Rather than spending public money to export surplus sugar, the government promoted ethanol production from molasses and excess foodgrains. According to Gulati, the initiative has already delivered significant economic benefits.
"The program so far has helped save 1.9 trillion rupees. Off that, 1,60,000 crores has gone to farmers."
He said farmer incomes have increased across states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, particularly in sugarcane-growing regions.
Calling ethanol "a very good fuel", Gulati said it offers strong performance while helping tackle climate change.
"In an era when we are facing the issue of climate change... this is a zero carbon fuel because it's derived from plants," he said.
Explaining the carbon-neutral nature of ethanol, Gulati added:
"Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants when they grow. And when you make this into fuel and burn it, the carbon dioxide that comes out is actually absorbed back by the plants."
He also said ethanol blending helped cushion consumers and the economy during periods of global crude supply disruptions.
Addressing concerns over older vehicles originally designed for E10 fuel, Maruti Suzuki India Corporate Affairs Senior Executive Officer Rahul Bharti said the company had extensively evaluated their performance on E20.
"As a manufacturer, we have tested E10 cars... on E20 fuel for all parameters and we have not found anything of concern," he said.
Bharti added that Maruti Suzuki had incorporated sufficient safety margins in vehicle design and testing to ensure there would be no issues related to wear and tear, corrosion or component life even when vehicles manufactured before 2023 use E20 fuel.
Hero MotoCorp Chief Business Officer Ashutosh Verma said data from millions of two-wheelers also supports the safety of E20 fuel.
"We analyse crores of service data that we have, and... there is no incidence whatsoever of any higher damage with vehicles that run on E20 than the vehicles that were running on fuels prior to E20," he said.
Gulati also addressed common misconceptions surrounding ethanol-blended petrol. Referring to a 2021 study by ARAI, he said fears that E20 damages older vehicles are unfounded.
"It clearly established that the possible damage to cars and two wheelers which are old is not there. It is very insignificant."
On fuel efficiency, he acknowledged that E20 may result in a mileage reduction of around 2-4 per cent but said the impact is much smaller than commonly perceived.
He also dismissed concerns over pollution from ethanol manufacturing plants, saying all facilities in India are required to obtain environmental clearances, operate as zero-effluent units and reuse by-products such as bagasse, making them "extremely clean in terms of their processes."
(With inputs from ANI)