Is your car ready for the new E10 petrol?

The new E10 fuel blend is due to be introduced to Ireland by April 1, but is your car ready for it?

E10 fuel contains a higher level of bioethanol – an alcohol-based fuel made from distilling plants – than current E5 fuel. The 10 refers to 10 per cent, the level of bioethanol in the fuel with the remaining 90 per cent made up of standard unleaded petrol.

According to the Department of Transport, switching to E10 fuel could see “an estimated potential tailpipe carbon savings of between 330,000 and 550,000 tonnes of CO2eq from now to 2030.” That’s because, in theory, if you make some of your petrol from plants, those plants have already absorbed carbon dioxide from the air when they were grown. Converting them into fuel and burning that fuel means that you’re only releasing carbon already removed from the atmosphere. The idea is that the fuel becomes carbon neutral.

There are concerns however that the new fuel blend could be corrosive to some parts of a car’s engine and fuel system. The concern lies, especially with older or vintage cars. Every new car sold in Ireland since 2011 has had to be compatible with E10 fuel, as per European Union regulations. Some motoring groups are also saying that the new E10 petrol will be burned faster and so that could mean more time at the pumps filling up.