What is FFV-SHEV and flex-fuel?:
Vehicles with a flexi-engine can run on multiple types of fuels or a mixture of petrol with ethanol or methanol. The FFV-SHEV Corolla Altis takes this a step further as it can run on 100 percent ethanol and also benefits from a Hybrid-electric drivetrain for an even more ecological drive.
A Flexi-engine is able to support different types of fuel because it is capable of adjusting the fuel and air ratio as per the requirement with the help of composition sensors. Such engines are already being utilised in other countries such as the US, Canada and Brazil.
About ethanol:
Ethanol is a carbon-neutral and renewable fuel source, it is produced from agricultural products such as sugarcane and vegetable leftovers. Currently, it is being used as an alternative fuel around the world, with Brazil having the highest ethanol blend ratio of 48 percent.
Benefits of moving to flex-fuels:
India is one of the largest sugarcane producers in the world and the government is keen to introduce flex-fuel engines in the country. According to Nitin Gadkari, we are already producing large amounts of ethanol and have also achieved a 10 percent blend ratio, five months ahead of schedule. Promoting the technology will help in forex savings of Rs 30,000 crore spent on importing 86 million barrels of gasoline in the next 3-4 years. He also stated that the goal is to achieve 20 percent ethanol blending in overall fuel consumption by 2025, as a step towards the country’s net-zero emissions ambition by 2070.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, at the event held in Delhi
Furthermore, promoting flex-engines and the use of biofuels in vehicles is estimated to result in a 6 to 8 percent growth for the Indian agricultural sector.