Flex-fuel Engines Could Be Here In 6 To 8 Months: Nitin Gadkari

Flex-fuel is ethanol or methanol blended with petrol, and it will be much more affordable considering the skyrocketing petrol prices

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitn Gadkari said at an event that flex-fuel engines could come to India in the next six to eight months. Flex-fuels are a blend of petrol and ethanol (or methanol) and will be considerably cheaper than the cost of petrol.

The union minister said that the government had previously filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court to allow manufacturing of flex-fuel engines which meet Euro 4 norms. However, carmakers will now have to develop Euro 6-compliant flex-fuel engines.

Gadkari also asserted that car costs would not go up once these engines are made mandatory, however, he didn’t elaborate on it. In reality, making flex-fuel engines is a cost-intensive affair as it requires certain additions to existing powertrains. 

The government has been pushing for flex-fuel engines, with Nitin Gadkari stating in August that it could become a reality within a year. He also said that India would soon start exporting green hydrogen. For context,  hydrogen fuel is derived by splitting water atoms using low-emission carbon sources.

For all the government’s ambitious plans, carmakers haven’t shared any official word on the flex-fuel issue.