GEMA Urges Faster Rollout of Flex-Fuel Vehicles to Boost India’s Ethanol Blending Drive

The Grain Ethanol Manufacturer’s Association (GEMA), the central body for India’s ethanol producers, is urging the government to accelerate the expansion of higher ethanol blends and fast-track the launch of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) nationwide. The move follows a situation of overcapacity in India's ethanol market, with more suppy than demand from oil marketing firms.

According to GEMA, this shift will harmonize India’s biofuel strategy with global standards, reduce fossil fuel dependency, and support the country’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070. While that is one version, actual users on the other hand are not too impressed with the government's rush to add ethanol without providing consumers any choice in the matter. There has been a rising tide of discontent among motorists using older vehicles against the forced puchase of ethanol blended fuel, which many claim has been reducing efficiency and risks damaging engine parts.

The Case for FFVs

Having reached its goal of 20 percent ethanol blending with petrol, India is at a crossroads, GEMA maintains. Drawing inspiration from Brazil’s successful approach, where base petrol blends at E27 and FFVs can handle up to 55 percent ethanol, GEMA asserts that adopting flex-fuel technologies is vital for decarbonizing India’s transport sector. 

Flex-fuel engines, capable of operating on various ethanol-petrol mixtures, would mark a turning point in large-scale biofuel adoption.

Realistic Next Steps for Blending

While GEMA acknowledges that immediately increasing blending to 25–30 percent is unrealistic, the association recommends raising the level by 1–2 percent above the current 20 percent in line with the 'tolerance' of existing vehicles. 

President CK Jain explained, “There is an immediate need to enhance the blending up to the tolerance level of the existing vehicles to give some relief to the grain ethanol industry. The roadmap for ethanol blending beyond 20 percent must be clear, ambitious, and supported by a forward-looking policy framework.”

India’s grain ethanol producers have already invested to upgrade production capacity and are prepared to collaborate with stakeholders to enhance the distribution infrastructure, Jain added. 

GEMA stresses the importance of cooperation between policymakers, scientists, automobile manufacturers, and relevant ministries to build a robust biofuel ecosystem. GEMA Treasurer Abhinav Singal added, “A cohesive approach involving relevant ministries and all stakeholders is essential to build a sustainable and economically viable biofuel ecosystem.”

Government’s Push for E20

The government has maintained its positive stance on the program, and even gave talked about Brazil ‘successfully’ running on E27 for years. Responding to the voices that said ‘ethanol blended petrol should be cheaper than non blended fuel’, the government responded in August that the procurement price of Ethanol have increased and ‘now the weighted average price of Ethanol is higher than cost of refined Petrol’.

In any case, achieving flex-fuel readiness will require the development of suitable vehicle standards, upgrades to fuelling infrastructure, and wide-reaching consumer education campaigns.