UK could switch to ‘E10’ petrol in 2021

The Department for Transport is thinking about swapping ‘E5’ unleaded for ‘E10’ in 2021.

E10’s higher bioethanal content – ten per cent, whereas E5 only has five per cent – means the fuel burns more cleanly. The Government claims the switch would reduce the average car’s CO2 emissions by around two per cent. Over a year, it could cut CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road altogether.

E10 is already used in countries like Belgium, Finland, France and Germany. It is legal to sell in the UK, but it isn’t widely available. Under the Government’s plans, E10 would replace E5 as the standard grade of fuel offered at UK petrol stations.

There are around 700,000 cars on Britain’s roads that can’t, for whatever reason, run on E10 fuel, but the Government says most of these will have been scrapped by the time the E10/E5 change happens in 2021. In any case, ‘super’ grade fuels will continue to be mixed to E5 spec.

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