India gets first ethanol-driven electric vehicle pilot

As the world is discussing what should be the next alternative energy to run vehicles, Toyota has launched a first-of-its-kind pilot project flex fuel-strong hybrid electric vehicle (FFV-SHEV) in India. The new vehicle can run on 100 per cent ethanol.

Indian minister Nitin Gadkari launched Toyota's first-of-its-kind pilot project on a flex fuel-strong hybrid electric vehicle (FFV-SHEV).

Ethanol - perhaps the most ubiquitous of the alternative biofuels, a locally produced substance, has made its way into people's gas tanks. It is environmentally friendly that aligns with stricter emission norms.
On the heels of being alternative, environment-friendly fuels that can help combat both rising fuel prices & pollution levels, flex-fuel or Flexible fuel has been gaining traction.

Flex fuel engines are already popular in Brazil, the United States, European Union and China among many others.

India is the fifth largest manufacturer of ethanol following the US, Brazil, the European Union and China.

In flex fuels, the ratio of ethanol to petrol can be adjusted but the most commonly used flex-fuel use 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol. Unlike petrol, ethanol is not a byproduct of crude oil. Instead, it is a complex derivative of biomass left by agricultural feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane, hemp (bhang), potato, and rice among many other things.
Ethanol is extracted from sugarcane juice; from molasses - the black viscous product derived from refining sugarcane. These agricultural products are found in abundance in India and hence, the Indian government has made a concerted effort to promote ethanol as an alternative fuel option.

Ethanol has the quality to burn cleaner than gasoline, which simply makes flex-fuel vehicles leave fewer toxic fumes in the environment.

The usage of ethanol, which is sustainably produced, is what makes flex-fuels a green choice.

(ANI)