E10 and beyond!
We’ve all seen the classic war/end of the world/alien invasion films that involve nuclear weapons or planet-destroying laser rays from alien space crafts and also the odd underground bunkers that are designed to house the best of the best in the world while the whole planet gets submerged in water and fire. So we know that when the words code red or DEFCON 1 are a sign that things are getting real, mad panic ensues and they’ve 1hr 30mins to sort it before the end of the film and a few people are killed off.
So when the IPCC’s report was released on the 10th of August stating that we are now at “CODE RED FOR HUMANITY!” and that the state of the world is now critical, it wasn’t exactly a shock. In fairness, anyone with half a brain cell knows about pollution and that the greenhouse gasses are at an all-time high and if you didn’t you must have been hiding under a rock.
The choices we make while living our lives now will greatly affect how future generations will live. And hopefully for the better.
In a previous blog of mine “I’d go Electric but…..” I mentioned many reasons why right now it is not feasible for me to jump into a DS 3 Crossback 100kw E-tense 50kwh Performance Line+ Auto and not have to worry about how much it is to fill up the tank. But I still want to help save the planet in every wee bit that I can. So maybe the release of E10 appearing in all fuel stations from today will be the temporary solution we all need until everyone can drive an EV?
Until the other week when a colleague sent me an article about E10, I’d never thought about the numbers on the fuel pumps. I only tend to notice unleaded, premium unleaded and diesel then watch the counter go up and up and up until it’s either full or I’m playing my own personal game of the price is right (you all know that game where you try and get the counter to an exact figure that I want – £25.00 bingo!).
So one Saturday I did a double-take when I realised the pump I was using at Tesco had a giant E10 on it. How long has that been there? When did this start? And what is the difference between E10 and E5 which I also have never spotted before?
Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s I was used to knowing certain E-numbers, sometimes I think they might have been some of the first words I could read before anything else “sodium benzoate and E211”. Those two pesky words were banned from our house while growing up. I knew that those lethal innocent-sounding wee e-number were the devil and if my wee sister was giving anything with either of them in it she went nuts! So no blue smarties, skittles or certain drinks for her but for me woohoo I got her share!
But alas the fun e-numbers in processed stuff were swapped with natural flavourings and e-numbers started to disappear. So it was a bit of a surprise nearly 35years later that I’m back to looking out for e-numbers again but this time for my car.
So E10 what does it mean?
From GOV.UK –
“About E10 petrol
E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, which will help to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with petrol vehicles and tackle climate change. Petrol in the UK currently contains up to 5% renewable ethanol (known as E5).
E10 petrol is already widely used around the world, including across Europe, the US and Australia. It has also been the reference fuel against which new cars are tested for emissions and performance since 2016.”
Well, it can’t be that bad if most of the world is already using it? And if it’s helping to reduce our C02 levels then this will help us all with Petrol driven cars feel less guilty. And with the DfT* saying switching to E10 will cut our CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year
So who can use E10 and E5?
Before at the fuel pumps you would see, unleaded, super unleaded and Diesel. E10 is compatible with any car made after 2011, any produced before then will need to double-check but you might need to use E5. and Diesel….well you’ll need to stick with Diesel or B7 as it’ll now have stuck on the pump.
If you aren’t sure if your car is compatible click on this link and it will let you know about the E10 compatibility checker.
But if we are now going to be using 10% renewable ethanol in our cars why can’t we use more like they do in Brazil? Well, Brazil didn’t just jump straight into it, in the early 70s the Brazilian Government brought in their National Alcohol Programmed “Proálcool” and by 1975 90% of all new cars sold in Brazil could be run on ethanol.
And for decades fully filled ethanol cars were outselling petrol-fueled cars. Sadly in the 1990s, the price of petrol came down and the need for ethanol-fueled cars went away.
But like everything, there is always a comeback! In the movies, they get Will Smith into an alien spacecraft and he goes and blows up the mothership, or a NASA spacecraft that was due to come home takes a detour and flies straight into the sun to restart it.
So maybe we will get to a point where the pumps at the station say E0 or we all have the option to drive EVs without the worry about charging them when at home.
Either way, our time is up and we need to embrace the change to our fueling habits.
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