Nitin Gadkari launched the Japanese car maker’s Toyota Pilot Project Ethanol-ready flex-fuel hybrid cars in India.
On Tuesday, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road, Transport, and Highways, Toyota launched a Flex-fuel (FFV-SHEVs) Hybrid Toyota Corolla Altis Pilot Project in India. This Pilot Project seeks to promote hybrid vehicles powered by Flex Engines that can run on biofuels (ethanol and methanol), thereby reducing pollution and reliance on gasoline and diesel. Toyota led this pilot project and also launched the FFV Toyota Corolla Altis at the event in Delhi.
Other than Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Labour & Employment Bhupinder Yadav, Union Minister of Heavy Industry Mahendra Nath Pandey, and senior officials of Toyota Kirloskar Motor also attended the meeting.
On the occasion, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “Pollution is a big concern in India, and the transport sector is contributing to pollution.”
Therefore, there is a need to encourage the use of electric vehicles and vehicles that run on biofuels like ethanol and methanol, he added.
The Toyota Corolla Altis is a Flex-Fuel Strong Hybrid vehicle. It is powered by a 1.8-liter ethanol-ready petrol-hybrid engine. It was imported from Toyota Brazil for the pilot project, which was unveiled.
What are FFV-SHEVs?
FFV-SHEVs refer to flex-fuel strong hybrid engine vehicles. With the help of composition sensors, Flex engines can support different types of fuels like petrol or ethanol or a mixture of both in a two-wheeler or four-wheeler vehicle because they can adjust the fuel and air ratio as per the requirement with the help of composition sensors. The Toyota Corolla Altis can run entirely on ethanol.
Flex-fuel vehicles are already being utilized in the USA, Brazil, and Canada.
Why Ethanol?
Ethanol is a carbon-neutral and renewable fuel derived from starchy crops such as sugar cane. It is also known as “biomass”. India is one of the largest producers of sugar cane. Currently, ethanol is an alternate fuel used globally, with Brazil having the highest ethanol blend at 48 percent.
Ethanol contains less energy per gallon than gasoline. E95, E90, and E85 are referred to as percentages of ethanol mixed with percentages of petrol.
Nonetheless, promoting biofuels and flex engines can help the Indian agriculture sector grow by 6 to 8%.
