Maruti Suzuki working on E85-compliant flex fuel engines for future cars

The increasing environmental concerns have gotten the attention of OEMs and are moving them towards adopting more sustainable fuel sources to tackle the problem. While most car manufacturers are moving toward electric vehicles, Maruti Suzuki has adopted a different approach. The Indian automaker has started working on an E85 capable engine (fuel with 85 percent ethanol). However, the details of the project are still a secret. But the cars from the homegrown automaker will be E20 compliant by April next year to meet the government requirements.

According to CV Raman, CTO of Maruti Suzuki Indian Limited, the business has begun working on developing engines that can run on E85 (85 per cent ethanol). Additionally, he said that by April 2023, all of its passenger vehicle powertrains would be E20 compliant, in line with the Indian Government's plan to implement E20 gasoline.

It is to be noted that as part of the blended fuel, the company is also working on other power sources like Electric Vehicles and also hold a strong portfolio of CNG vehicles in the Indian market. Moreover, based on the reports, the company is also using its resources to explore the possibilities of using bio-fuel engines in its vehicles.

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After the EV initiative, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has been pushing flex-fuel engines. He thinks that ethanol-blended fuel could be a good answer for India, similar to how E20 and higher mixes have been utilised in Brazil for decades. This is certainly very conceivable, but careful consideration is needed to make sure that crops for ethanol production do not take up agricultural land intended for food production, which is currently a worry in some areas where ethanol fuel is popular.

A few changes are needed to the rubber hoses and fuel system to manage the fuel's corrosive character, as well as a little engine system recalibration in order to boost the proportion to 20 to 25 percent of ethanol, which is now the case in India.