Automobile giants assure of flex engines in six months

Flex engines run on 100% petrol or 100% ethanol and can reduce dependence on crude oil, reduce emissions

Automobile giants Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have assured the government they will bring flex engine vehicles in six months, a move that can reduce India's dependence on crude oil, shorten a huge import bill and also lessen emissions.

Flex engines allow vehicles to run on 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent ethanol.

Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari at a sugar and ethanol conference Sunday said the Centre was also exploring ways to increase the use of ethanol in the aviation sector in order to reduce transportation energy costs. To this end, he called upon sugar factories to make a shift to the conversion of sugar into ethanol.

"If sugar production goes ahead as it does now, it will be harmful for the industry in times to come," he warned leaders of sugar and allied industries saying, "what is good for our future is to reduce the production of sugar and increase production of ethanol."

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"We have issued an advisory on flex engines; Toyota, Hyundai and Suzuki have assured me that they will bring flex engines within six months. Recently, we launched a pilot car run by green hydrogen. Toyota Chairman informed me that their car is flex – either 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent ethanol and that Toyota cars of coming days will be run on hybrid electricity, which will generate 40 per cent electricity and run 60 per cent of the distance using 100 per cent ethanol. This economics will be highly advantageous in comparison to petrol,” the minister said.

India currently produces 465 crore litres of ethanol, a green and clean fuel. However, in the next five years, when flex engines get ready, ethanol requirements will increase to 4,000 crore litres per year.

Petroleum imports in India are at present Rs 8 lakh crore, which is expected to become Rs 25 lakh crore in the next five years, which the minister said may not be economically viable.

The minister said he was in discussion with the Air Force Chief and defence ministry officials on how to increase the use of ethanol in aviation and the Indian Air Force. ”We can also consider using ethanol in four lakh telecom mobile towers," he said.

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