The Mannheim-based ethanol manufacturer CropEnergies wants to offer the emission-saving fuel Super E20 at a public filling station nationwide for the first time from today. According to the company, the E20 gas pump is only available to certain company fleets in the current trial phase, not to the general public. So far, this offer of a higher, 20 percent bioethanol content has only been available at company filling stations on company premises.
The ADAC automobile club welcomes the progress on the E20 issue. Compared to E5 and E10, greenhouse gas emissions when driving can be easily reduced further. Super E10 offers potential savings of up to three million tons of CO2 annually. “The savings potential could be increased significantly by increasing the blending rate of bioethanol from currently a maximum of 10 to up to 20 percent,” says ADAC Technical President Karsten Schulze.
Politics required for clarification
According to the automobile club, the quality standards for gasoline must be adjusted so that normal cars can also use the new fuel. Politics is also required here. Car manufacturers would then have to technically approve their vehicles for use.
However, the ADAC also sees the need to avoid mistakes made during the E10 introduction in 2011. At the time it was said that the gasoline industry was solely to blame for the E10 debacle. She failed to inform drivers about the compatibility, which caused uncertainty. “Last year, Super E10’s market share in the gasoline market was just 24 percent,” according to the ADAC. This means that only a fraction of the potential for saving emissions is being exploited.
The nature conservation association Nabu warns against seeing biofuels as a panacea. “Believing that we can advance the transport transition by switching to biofuels is a mistake,” it said. These are extremely inefficient and space-intensive. Nabu particularly criticizes the competition with food production. It is said that what is needed is no more biofuels, but rather alternative mobility concepts.
