E10's availability in Germany
We have recently seen how German automakers (BMW, Volkswagen) have announced that their engines are E10-ready. In fact, most cars currently running on German roads can take the biofuel.
This all started when Avia, one of Germany's largest gasoline distributors, announced that E10 was going to be available at most of its fuel stations in the country. According to Avia, the use of E10 allows motorists to reduce their net CO2 emissions without any effort on their part. For a car that produces 220 g of CO2, this means that E10 saves 15 grams because ethanol is a renewable source (of course, they don't mention how that ethanol was made, but let's assume it was "sustainable").
E10 also costs 3 cents per liter less than gasoline. Current prices in Germany are about 1.41 EUR/l (if you know that a gallon is 3.785 l and that 1 EUR is currently about $1.45 US, that makes $7.74 per gallon), so every little bit helps. E10's performance is almost equal to regular gasoline and most engines need no modification to burn it.
[Source: Auto-News Germany]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rgseidl 11:56AM (2/20/2008)
Xavier -
while Avia may already be selling E10 in Germany today, the driving force behind this is not consumer demand but the EU biofuels directive. To comply with it, the German environment minister wants to require refineries to convert Euro95 from the current E5 to an E10 blend by 2009. VW has certified most of its legacy models for the change, but other manufacturers have not yet done so. Owners of models that are not cleared will have to switch to premium Euro98, though in many cases that will have been the recommended grade all along.
Industrial-scale ethanol production is not carbon neutral at the moment. In temperate climes, the fossil fuel inputs are almost as high - or higher, depending on whom you believe - as the ethanol output. In the tropics, clearing rain forest to make room for energy crops releases massive amounts of CO2.
An E10 blend contains ~3% less energy by volume than pure dino-juice, with a knock-on effect on fuel economy. At a discount of ~2% at the pump, motorists end up paying no more than ~1% extra as a result. Of course, once they put on their taxpayer hats, they will discover hidden costs in the form of fresh farm subsidies.
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brock 10:25PM (2/20/2008)
She can pump my gas anytime. Hubba hubba.
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TIMMAH! 10:39PM (2/20/2008)
Why is Brooke Shields pumping gas in Germany?
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Doug 9:09AM (2/21/2008)
E10 has been the only gas you can buy since January 1, 2008 over here.
And too bad for all of those people in Germany whose cars are not able to run as well on E10. Now you have to buy a new car if yours doesn't like to run on E10. I've noticed about a 10mpg drop after the switchover. Good thing I have to pay that 19% sales tax when I buy a new car. Oh, and the registration taxes......
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