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The arrival of E85 at Caltex pumps is not the end of the ethanol story, as GM Holden and Caltex are also part of a six-way consortium which plans to begin making ethanol fuel in Australia from rubbish.
A growing number of ethanol-focused new cars, including the Series II update of the Holden Commodore in October, has sparked an E85 push in Australia.
Caltex has just committed to install E85 ethanol pumps at 100 service stations in a little over 12 months, becoming the first mainstream fuel company to make a move on E85.
It will begin the roll-out with 30 metropolitan and regional stations in time for the arrival of the VEII, joining about 400 stations which currently sell E10 fuel. The E85 fuel - already used in V8 Supercar racing as part of a green push - is made to a world standard and 70-85 per cent ethanol.
In contrast, E10 has only 10 per cent ethanol content. The difference with ethanol is that it is an alcohol fuel made from plant material and not a petroleum-based fossil fuel. But the arrival of E85 at Caltex pumps is not the end of the ethanol story, as GM Holden and Caltex are also part of a six-way consortium - with Veolia, Mitsui, Coskata and the Victorian government - which plans to begin making ethanol fuel in Australia from rubbish.
Coskata announced plans to create ethanol-from-waste fuel in the USA more than 18 months ago and was quickly joined in a partnership by General Motors, which is the world's largest producer of flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on E85 fuels.
The Australia deal is likely to see a plant built in Victoria to manufacture second-generation ethanol fuel, a move which overcomes the 'food for fuel' debate in the USA where corn stock is the base material for E85.
