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Govt to ask OEMs to make flex-fuel engines in next 6-8 months: Nitin Gadkari

Gadkari claimed that the cost of vehicles won’t rise after making it mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines.

Govt to ask OEMs to make flex-fuel engines in next 6-8 months: Nitin Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that the government will ask all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines under the Euro VI emission norms in the next six to eight months. Flex-fuel, or flexible fuel, is an alternative fuel made of a combination of gasoline and methanol or ethanol. Addressing an event, Gadkari further said in the next 15 years, the Indian automobile industry will be worth Rs 15 lakh crore.

“We were planning to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court to allow manufacturing of flex-fuel engines under the Euro IV emission norms…But now I feel that we will ask all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines (that can run on more than one fuel) under the Euro VI emission norms in the next 6-8 months,” he said.

Gadkari claimed that the cost of vehicles won’t rise after making it mandatory for all vehicle manufacturers to make flex-fuel engines.

The minister predicted that in the coming days, India will be able to export green hydrogen. The government in January 2016 has decided to leapfrog directly from Euro IV emission norms for petrol and diesel to Euro VI standards.

An inter-ministerial group headed by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on January 6, 2016, had taken the decision to advance the date by four years to April 1, 2020, for implementation of Bharat Stage VI (equivalent to Euro VI norms followed globally) for the supply of cleaner auto fuel, by altogether skipping the Euro V grade norms.

Also read: India aims for 20 percent Ethanol-blended petrol by 2025: Benefits and challenges

During an event in August this year, C V Raman, Chief Technical Officer, Maruti Suzuki India, and President, ASPIRE Governing Board, pointed out that ethanol-blended fuels have the potential to replace 18% of gasoline consumption. E20 fuels will also lead to a 16% reduction in harmful greenhouse gases.

However, he expressed his concern about customer acceptability and the impact of compatibility with ethanol fuels with on-road vehicles which are not developed to run on 20% ethanol-blended fuel which might would result in increased fuel consumption and higher maintenance costs for vehicles.

(PTI inputs)

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First published on: 21-10-2021 at 11:14 IST
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