CaravanPress

The new E10 petrol has 10% of ethanol. The ethanol percentage of the current 95 and 98 octane petrols is 5. The aim is that the E10 will be the primary petrol grade and all the 95 octane petrol will be E10. The reason for increasing the ethanol percentage is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Transition period will be a problematic especially for car travelers. European countries have not agreed any common schedule when the transition from the current 95 octane to the new E10 will happen. Most of the new cars can use the E10 without any modifications. So unfortunately the E10 will not be suitable for all the cars. This concerns mostly about older cars, but there might be also some newer vehicles that cannot use the E10. It is good to check if your car runs on E10 before heading to a journey by consulting the car manufacturer. The 98 octane petrol does not change so that it can be used if the E10 is not suitable. The 98 octane is thus called as a protection grade. Finland makes the transition to E10 on January 2011 if the national legislation will be finished on time.

The E10 does not affect the power output of an engine. It does slightly increase a fuel consumption, because ethanol has a lower energy density than petrol.