E85 ethanol roll-out

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.

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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.