Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) announced the successful launch of a groundbreaking pilot study on vehicles using E27 fuel and Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel. HPCL, under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG), has become the first Oil Marketing Company in India to initiate such a comprehensive research program. The program aligns with the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025, which aims to promote the adoption of Ethanol Blending in gasoline. The roadmap, which aims to create a greener and more sustainable future, presents a phased rollout plan to achieve 20% Ethanol Blended Gasoline (E20) by April 2023 and ensure its widespread availability by April 2025. It also emphasises the introduction of E20 material-compliant and E10 engine-tuned vehicles starting from April 2023, followed by the production of E20-tuned engine vehicles from April 2025. HPCL's state-of-the-art R&D Centre in Devanagunthi, Bengaluru, is currently undertaking dedicated efforts for comprehensive research on biofuels. The proficient team at the centre is evaluating the effects and performance of different blends of ethanol-gasoline (ranging from 10% to 27%) and ethanol-diesel on various categories of test vehicles at the Engine Research laboratory. Preliminary studies on vehicles fueled with E27 have shown significant reductions in emissions such as CO and THC when compared to traditional gasoline. As part of the pilot launch, HPCL will also evaluate ethanol-diesel trials on passenger cars, with an initial goal of accumulating 20,000 km of mileage. The pilot study of E27 fuel aims to assess its performance and emissions in engines and vehicles through extended mileage accumulation. This phase plans to accumulate up to 10,000 km for two-wheelers and 20,000 km for passenger cars using E27 fuel. Ethanol trials, in compliance with IS 1460:2017 fuel specifications, will also be conducted alongside biodiesel-diesel trials. Also read: Sakhalin in Russia invites India and China for energy resources MRPL shifts focus to chemicals, shelves refinery expansion