Filling up the car has for decades been the same – you pull into the forecourt and you pretty much just have to remember to stick either in Petrol or Diesel in – green pump or black pump.
Well, things are going to be changing. What was just petrol is being split to the fuel we currently know, E5, and the new arrival E10.
Strangely, for such a major shift, this isn’t being spoken/publicised about that much.
What’s the difference?
Well, the E stands for ethanol and the number tells you how much ethanol they’ve put into the petrol. E5 has 5 per cent ethanol and, correspondingly, the E10 contains 10 per cent.
The reason it’s being introduced is to lower the amount of harmful emissions as well as making the fossil fuels we do have left last longer.
The hope is that E10 could cut carbon emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year, the DfT says, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road.
It’s already being used in countries like Belgium, Finland, France and Germany, but it’s new in the UK.
Why does this matter?
Cars that were not designed to have petrol with higher levels of ethanol can be damaged by having E10 in them. For example, the ethanol fumes can attack the seals, causing them to degrade.
Broadly this means people with older cars need to be aware of the changes and pay close attention when filling up.
The Government has a Website where you can look up your make, model of car and it’s supposed to let you know if you’ll be ok. We used and found it to be as good as useless.
There’s some more info on the BBC site.
E10 on the Island?
Have you seen any E10 for sale around the Island yet?
