India’s ethanol push is no longer just about blending petrol. With proposals to extend its use to aviation, the debate has intensified over whether the country is rushing into a fuel whose costs may outweigh its benefits. Concerns range from damage to existing vehicles and lower fuel efficiency to groundwater depletion, food security, the diversion of crops from the food chain and severely low energy density.
Many experts believe the real future of biofuels lies not in food crops but in converting crop residues, municipal waste and other biomass into cleaner fuels.
The E10 or 100 mililitre ethanol per 10 litre of petrol, could be a myth with its low burning capacity – energy density and high-water content, though it could boost profits of distilleries. It’s doubtful if it could give the required thrust to a car or now as planned for aircraft as well by the government.
Even the push for ethanol for car is yet not cleared by any lab or study. As per government’s admission in court, it is doing a mass experiment with not clear with whose legal sanction.
Intriguing is the recent press conference by three auto companies – Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, and Hero MotoCorp. They mislead the public. Toyota owners’ manual contradicts what the company affirms. It does not give clean chit to ethanol. Apart a number of auto companies want guarantees for ethanol use.
India’s ethanol blending program with unproven energy security, is reshaping crop priorities, with farmers favouring maize over pulses and oilseeds, risking food security. The Economic Survey 2025-26 has warned of increased dependence on edible oil imports and food price volatility, highlighting a conflict between energy and food self-reliance.
Diverting sugarcane, rice and maize to ethanol production risks raising food prices, reducing food security and worsening groundwater depletion. Expanding maize cultivation has displaced pulses and oilseeds, increasing dependence on edible oil imports. Higher maize demand has also raised livestock feed costs, hurting poultry and dairy sectors. Diverting surplus rice and sugarcane may strain the public distribution system, while water-intensive ethanol crops further aggravate India’s growing water crisis.
Apart when the ethanol in E10 absorbs too much atmospheric moisture (especially in humid environments or if a car sits idle), it triggers phase separation. The ethanol and water bond together, sinking to the bottom of the fuel tank. It corrodes the engine, cause sputtering, stalling, and significant damage to fuel injectors and metal parts.
The ethanol blending move calls for immediate withdrawal till detailed prolonged tests are done in government labs.
The government has not clarified how a half-baked idea is forcefully implemented without a study or Lab clearance. No formal clearance has yet been accorded.
Why India Does Not Follow Brazil Transition
Brazil built its ethanol ecosystem over five decades, driven by the 1973 oil crisis. (In 1930, it allowed a blending law). The government initiated the Proálcool program in 1975, introduced mass-produced ethanol-only cars by 1979, and launched flex-fuel (E27, E35 E100, 25 to 30 percent cheaper) vehicles (FFVs) in 2003. This phased approach allowed simultaneous upgrades to fuel pumps, vehicle engines, and sugarcane production. It worked with auto giants for developing fully ethanol compliant engine. It never till today made any bit compulsory. Above all Brazil worked step by step.
India is seemingly in hurry without a preparation and scientific approach. Implementation of critical tech should be easy and never be coercive. Here profit, unfortunately, alone seems the inspiration. India forced a blanket blend without price reductions, creating dissatisfaction due to the resulting 5–12 percent drop in fuel mileage and ethanol-water blend costs the same as petrol, ensuring higher profits to distilleries.
Ethanol-Water damages: ARAI
The ARAI study on E20 (20% ethanol) does not suggest a blanket disapproval, but presents a mixed picture. While engines generally survive, testing by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) found that prolonged use of E20 in older vehicles designed for E10 can accelerate deterioration of rubber fuel-system. Over 90 percent of vehicles in India are not E20 compliant. The mileage loss has a cost.
India’s installed ethanol production capacity is 1,810 crore litres annually, spanning 499 operational distilleries. Driven by grain feedstocks like maize, producers average an estimated profit of Rs 20 to 25 per litre. Distilleries have cumulatively earned over Rs 1.96 lakh crore.
Reducing the price of government rice to Rs22.5 per kg has widened ethanol producers’ margins, with production costs of Rs38–42 per litre versus a government-fixed price of Rs60–65.
Best Residues, Wastes
Whether ethanol is a clean fuel depends on its full lifecycle, not just tailpipe emissions. Ethanol is only one part of India’s broader biofuel strategy, alongside compressed biogas, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and bioethanol for hard-to-decarbonise sectors.
The next generation biofuels have to be made from farm residues, municipal waste and other non-food biomass, stubble and methane emissions.
What’s Ethanol Hurry?
Nothing adequately explains the extraordinary rush towards ethanol. India needs a cafeteria approach to energy, offering multiple fuel options rather than replacing one form of dependence with another. The experience of the US-Iran conflict, which exposed the country’s vulnerability to disruptions in petroleum supplies despite widespread adoption of LPG and petroleum-based fuels under schemes like Ujjwala, underscored the risks of over-reliance on a single energy source. Energy security lies in diversification—not in putting too many eggs in one basket.
Ethanol alone will not deliver India’s climate goals. Neither will electric vehicles. India’s clean energy future will be built on an ecosystem where renewable electricity, electric mobility, green hydrogen and advanced biofuels complement one another rather than compete.
The push for ethanol seems misplaced. Ethanol is only one component of a much broader ecosystem. The carbon footprint math gets complicated because ethanol has roughly 33 percent less energy density leading to a vehicle has to burn more volume than petrol – inflating the emissions and cost-per-mile story. Savings on forex is more a myth.
The electric vehicle progress is uncertain. But aviation, shipping, heavy commercial vehicles and several industries will continue to require liquid and gaseous fuels for decades.
The ethanol could be a reserve fuel but not a regular one as its actual costs and environmental hazards are high. It would be more expensive than petrol and never match petroleum fuels.
Monday, July 13, 2026