Whether it is Indycar racing, NASCAR, or Top Fuel Dragster normal petrol can not be used to drive all the cars used in these racing events. To drive these cars such fuel is needed, and the base ingredient found in every alcoholic beverage: Ethanol. This drinkable ethanol is used in these super-fast cars because it is produced from grains and sugarcane. From which hangover drinks are made and it is also highly flammable like petrol nowadays.

Ethanol is being discussed everywhere because it can also be used to drive normal passenger vehicles like a race cars, and ethanol is considered to be a fuel that can reduce the dependency on countries like India, which imports crude oil in huge quantities. Middle eastern countries have surplus crude oil and it is important because their dependency on India for crude oil imports is increasing yearly.

What is Flex Engine?

During the year 2022-23, the demand for crude oil in India increased by 73% and a bill of $ 90 Billion was to be paid by India. All this is happening because the number of car owners in India is increasing every year. That's the reason Shri Nitin Gadkari said in an interview,” In a span of about 6 months, Every petrol engine in India whether it is a two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler will consist of a flex engine”. To elaborate on what Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the flex-fuel engines about which Shri Nitin Gadkari mentioned are also Internal Combustion Engines just like any normal car or motorcycle which are visible on Indian roads. 

But the Flex-fuel engines differ in such a way that these can use flex-fuel for their operation which means a fuel that has both petrol and ethanol mixed in some proportion In India, currently, all the vehicles run on E10 petrol which means fuel that has 10% ethanol And 90% of petrol and you must have heard about E10 petrol earlier. But the Indian government wants that In the next couple of years, E20 fuel should be used in all vehicles Which will consist of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol E20 petrol is now available in some selected firms in some states of India Now. It is getting claimed about flex fuel will cause less air pollution and the dependency of India on foreign crude oil would reduce which is right in some sense. 

What are the benefits of using Flex Fuel?

But some more facts should not be ignored when we are already promoting electric vehicles, hydrogen, and hybrid vehicles so much then what is the need for this flex fuel? And how would it be beneficial? And how flex fuel can again increase the prices of vehicles in India and how the environment would be impacted after the heavy usage of ethanol.

History of Ethanol Flex-Fuel Engine

First of all, let's understand why ethanol is getting promoted before that let's understand, the history of vehicles driven by ethanol cars driven by flex-fuel was introduced about 100 years ago. Ford Model T, which was developed between the years 1908-1927, was capable to move with ethanol-blended petrol and this car consisted of an adjustable jetting carburetor which made it possible for the car to drive with ethanol-blended petrol. Apart from Ford, other car manufacturers also started doing the same but for almost half a century petrol was very cheap. Hence the automotive manufacturers did not find it economical to use ethanol-blended petrol But due to the occurrence of the oil crisis in the year 1973 there was a shortage of petrol and after this many countries started realizing that oil dependency is not good for any country's economy. Since then the concept of flex-fuel was started getting promoted but still, it could not come into the limelight because till now, even after the shortage, Petrol was available in surplus quantity and till now Global Warming was a myth. 

Since the beginning of the 21st century countries started realizing the importance of flex-fuel and global warming was the major reason behind this which had now become the reality. In August 2018, American Coalition for Ethanol published a research paper According to which E85 Flex fuel, Emits about 50% fewer greenhouse gases as compared to petrol this E85 flex fuel, consists of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol due to this countries like Brazil, Canada, Sweden, and the US Produced vehicles that can run on E85 flex fuel or 100% ethanol very long ago. While the U.S. was the only country that produces ethanol the most but the US does not use the ethanol produced in the automobile sector this is done by Brazil.

Brazil might be the 2nd largest producer of flex-fuel in the whole world but Brazil is the largest consumer of flex-fuel in the automotive industry. In the year 2018, 27 million cars were in Brazil, which means more than 73% of the total cars in Brazil were driving via ethanol-blended petrol now the biggest question arises, Why only Brazil? That is because, When there was a fuel crisis all over the globe Brazil too was affected by the fuel crisis. But Brazil had an advantage that was only present in Brazil and that was Sugarcane. Sugarcane is such a crop from which Ethanol can be extracted since sugarcane is composed of starch and sugar.

How Ethanol is Produced?

If we look into the basic of this process and try to understand this process from the basics then this process includes, harvesting the sugar and firstly extraction of juice from it the sugarcane juice is then fermented. In the process of Fermentation, CO2 gas is emitted from this sugarcane juice In a very huge numbers and after this, the obtained product is sent for distillation finally, ethanol is developed. Ethanol can be extracted from other grains as well like corn and America produces a major portion of ethanol from corn. Now Brazil obtained an advantage from sugarcane because it is the world's biggest producer of sugarcane. Brazil is producing sugarcane in huge quantities since the 16th century. To manufacture sugar from it and export it as well. 

Why is the Indian Government Pushing Flex Fuel?

This advantage of the heavy production of sugarcane is also present in India Like Brazil, India also produces sugarcane in huge quantities. While today, India is ranked 2nd in the whole world for the production of sugarcane. 

But till now, the major portion of the sugarcane harvested in India was getting used for the production of sugar. Nowadays, India is producing a very huge quantity of sugar a major portion of the sugar produced is kept unused. India is producing surplus sugar from the year 2010 which means we are producing sugar more than what is required since sugar is available in surplus quantity in India. Due to this reason, the Indian government wants to get benefitted from this and the Indian government is promoting flex fuel so much The Indian government has set a target for the year 2025 To make E20 fuel compulsory for all vehicles. In December 2022, SIAM, (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) addressing an event organized by SIAM the road and Transport Minister of India Shri Nitin Gadkari said that every year the prices of crude oil fluctuate Which causes a lot of trouble and that's why we must move towards 100% flex-fuel vehicles. That is a clear indication that the Indian government is very interested in this flex fuel and especially Shri Nitin Gadkari.

TVS Apache RTR 200 FI E100

The TVS Apache RTR 200 FI E100: A High-Performance Motorcycle with Ethanol Fuel Capability.

The TVS Apache RTR 200 FI E100 is a motorcycle that runs on Ethanol and has the following specifications:

• Fuel Type: Ethanol

• Engine: 197.75cc, single-cylinder, 4-stroke, oil-cooled Si 4 valve

• Power output: 21 bhp @ 8,500 rpm

• Torque: 18.1 Nm @ 7,000 rpm

• Fuel system: Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) with twin-spray-twin-port system

• Fuel tank capacity: 12 liters

• Brakes: 300mm petal disc with ABS (front), 240mm petal disc (rear)

• Suspension: Telescopic fork (front), mono-shock (rear)

• Tyres: 90/90-17 (front), 130/70-17 (rear)

• Transmission: 5-speed gearbox

• Kerb Weight: 153 kg

• Top speed: 129 km/h

• Price: INR 1.2 lakh as of February 2023.

Flex Fuel Vehicle showcased in 2023 AutoExpo India

In October 2022, Shri Nitin Gadkari Launched India's first flex-fuel stock hybrid car, Corolla Altis, this car was introduced in India as a pilot project vehicle and TATA MOTORS flaunted their GTI Engines in the Auto Expo 2023, these engines can also support flex fuel which is E20 which is by the new Indian norms and also Maruti showcased its all-new the TVS Apache RTR bike which runs on Ethanol Flex Fuel. Bajaj also launched its bike Bajaj Pulsar NS160 Ethanol Flex Fuel.

Now we have understood the two major benefits of flex-fuel.

1. The first is the reduction in carbon emissions. 

2. The second and crucial advantage is self-reliance on fuel production.

3. The third benefit would be from the forex reserves In the financial year 2022, India spent $ 119 Billion To purchase crude oil India used the major portion of its forex reserves to import oil and petroleum products. But ethanol blending can reduce this spending and we have already observed its proof when the target of E10 flex fuel was achieved by India. Then, in August 2022, Shri Narendra Modi said that In the past 6-7 years, India has saved more than $ 6 Billion of its forex reserves, and after the full usage of E20 fuel more than $ 4 Billion in forex reserves would be saved annually and the energy demand in India is going to shoot up very rapidly in the coming years.

That's why it is important to become self-reliant in the energy sector 

4. The Fourth and last benefit of Ethanol production is employment. As we have just discussed, Ethanol can be extracted from crops like sugarcane. This would increase the earnings of the farmers and the rural economy would also grow. Because for the production of Ethanol, plants would be set up in rural areas and workers would be needed for the proper operation of these plants.

Negative impacts of Flex Fuel

But there also exist some negative impacts too in the production of ethanol from sugarcane The first and the biggest negative impact is the water crisis According to a report published by the Niti Aayog To produce a liter of ethanol from sugarcane 2860 liters of water are needed. Apart from this, In July 2020, a research paper was published according to which, to complete the target of E20 ethanol-blended petrol set for the year 2025, 1320 Million tons of sugarcane would be needed. Which will require additional 19 Million Hectares of Land and an additional 348 Billion cubic meters of water would be required. If you look into this very closely then these are huge numbers to increase the production of ethanol the production of sugarcane has to be increased and ultimately high sugarcane production could become the reason for water pollution. Because the fertilizers and slit emitted from the sugarcane farms and sugar mills would pollute the freshwater ecosystem.

Today, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Mesoamerican Reef in Brazil Pollutants are getting dumped which is polluting the coral ecosystem. By the way, India is very behind in the production of ethanol even though, India produces a surplus amount of sugarcane the major portion of the sugarcane produced is consumed as sugar and today India is standing 13th in the world in the production of ethanol. But as soon as the production of ethanol would increase the third bigger problem would also arise which is food security.

Food Security due to ethanol extraction

India produces 84% of its ethanol from sugarcane 10% from rice And the rest from corn In December 2022, in India, The retail inflation of rice was 10.5% and that of corn was 17.5% But when the dependency on transportation on ethanol would increase India has to use a major portion of its crops in the production of ethanol which will eventually lead to more inflation. But the Indian government is trying to produce ethanol from various raw materials Like Parali, sugar, wheat, potatoes, etc. But the success would only be known in the coming years. 

There is one more major problem with ethanol which is not linked to our food but is linked to your pocket. Today, a liter of ethanol costs INR 65, and INR 97-98 for a liter of petrol. Hence, ethanol is about INR 32-33 cheaper than petrol and this is a huge difference. But the per molecular energy of ethanol is less than that of petrol therefore to obtain the same amount of energy about 1.6 Litres of ethanol is to be burned. While 1 Litre of petrol can produce exactly the same amount of energy and if we observe in this way, Then, the price difference between ethanol and petrol would be very less and your pocket would not be impacted highly. It could be slightly expensive only but another thing that can make a hole in your pockets is the development of flex-fuel engines by the automotive Manufacturers for the E20 petrol. 

The major changes the automotive Manufacturers have to do in the engine are a change in the material of the engine to protect it from corrosion by ethanol and a change in the injection system of the vehicles due to this, the cars which are already very expensive. Due to heavy taxes and the BS6 upgradations Will become even more expensive. An extra load would also be imposed on the automotive Manufacturers because they are already investing huge capital in the Research and Development of electric and hybrid vehicles and they have to invest highly in the production of upgraded BS6 engines. In the end, all these expenses would be extracted from the consumers.

What are the Indian Models of Ethanol Flex Fuel

Currently, there are a few Flex Fuel vehicles available in India, including the TVS Apache RTR 200 FI E100 and some models from Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors. As more car manufacturers enter the Flex Fuel market and the government continues to provide incentives for clean energy adoption, Flex Fuel technology will likely become more widespread in India in the coming years.

Conclusion

By now you must have understood that Flex fuel has both advantages and serious disadvantages. But the benefit is mainly focused on the reduction of the dependency on fossil fuels because at the end of the day, emissions would not stop from the Tailpipe and as mentioned previously the mileage of any vehicle drops due to ethanol because more amount of ethanol is to be consumed by the engine, to produce the same amount of power and due to this, the tailpipe emissions would not reduce in huge numbers. Because in the end, you are burning more flex-fuel in comparison to petrol. 

Do let me know your thoughts about this flex fuel, according to you what things could improve due to this flex fuel? And in what ways the flex fuel would be beneficial to Indians?

 When we hear the name Cummins, within a fraction of a second you might think of a diesel engine. After all, that's what their entire business is built on. But recently they have ventured into the world of Hydrogen Combustion Engines (where hydrogen is used as a fuel) and could eventually replace the massively successful and long line of diesel engines? It sounds crazy!

Why on Earth would Cummins even think to pursue hydrogen engines when their entire business is built on diesel engines? Designing them, producing them, supplying them, they're all over the world. But it is true, they are pursuing hydrogen engines.

So, let me drive you into the most renowned brand Cummins and what is the reason behind their pursual of hydrogen engines? What is in it for them? Is their money to be made? Is there some sort of innovation that they have? What are they doing? Too many questions. Let's take a look at Cummins.

Why there is a need for Hydrogen Engine?

We see huge money daily and year after year, being invested into electric vehicle systems. Companies like Ford and other big automakers are putting tons of money into electric vehicle systems and we can get to know from the EPA's (Environmental protection agency) scheduled emissions restrictions, that life for gasoline and diesel-powered engines is going to get very difficult, if not outright impossible shortly. 

And keeping in mind, there is a possibility that the free market will be going to willingly choose electric over fossil fuel vehicles anytime soon, due to pricing and range concerns. But rather that it’s being forced by a branch of the government, and because of that, we have seen the electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, also known as EVs and PHEVs, popping up left and right from just about every single automaker in the world.

Vehicle Electrification

Vehicle electrification is can help individuals who live in the city, who do not have long commutes, and especially do not have to use their vehicles for work, so something like the Ford F-150 lightning, it’s not a particularly great work truck because of the range when towing and hauling, 

But what about people who don't live in the city? What about off-highway construction? What about over-the-road long-distance trucking? 

There are a lot of applications where electricity simply just doesn't make sense as of right now. Well, you might be thinking to yourself, well, we have electric semi-trucks coming soon, but there's a huge amount of work to be done before said electric semi-trucks are useful for long-distance hauling of goods. The massive infrastructure required simply is not there yet, it doesn't mean that it won't be there, or can’t be there, it's just simply not yet of course.

Why lithium extraction is expensive?

On the other side, it is worth mentioning that lithium mining is incredibly destructive, cobalt mining involves literal child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo in some of the worst conditions imaginable, and fossil fuel power plants are still supplying the power required to charge vehicles, at least still in the country like India and partially in the US and upcoming countries. It is almost exclusively supplied by fossil fuel power plants. And that still needs to cover off-highway construction where electricity simply is just not a good option because of the location of where the work is being done.

Suppose you wanted to use electric vehicles for bringing materials in and out of electric machinery in an off-Highway construction site. In that case, you’d likely need a huge diesel generator on site to supply the electricity for those vehicles, which kind of defeats the purpose. Don’t underestimate the ridiculous amount of power required for an electric vehicle to operate. So, that brings us back to the internal combustion engine, but as we mentioned, the EPA has scheduled emissions restrictions that are coming shortly, that are going to strangle gas and diesel engines.

Cummins Hydrogen Powered Combustion Engines

If one wants to keep the internal combustion engine in use, then they have to switch the fuel source to something cleaner, which is exactly why Cummins has been putting money into Hydrogen-Powered Engine solutions for on-the-road trucking, off-highway construction, and so on. And with something like a Cummins-powered generator, it could more easily have the electrical generation required to power off-highway construction with electric vehicles bringing materials in and out or just having electric construction equipment like an excavator and so on. Now, it doesn't mean that we're going to see electric excavators becoming incredibly popular anytime soon, as it likely won't happen for another 20 to 40 years. 

So, that takes us to Cummins's two new hydrogen-powered engines which are based very much on two types of diesel that already exist in Cummins's portfolio, which are the 6.7 liters that you can find in applications like the Ram 2500 and the 15 liters that one can find in applications like commercial trucks. And even more, interestingly, Cummins isn't developing these strictly as hydrogen-fueled engines, but rather as fuel-agnostic engines that can be powered by either Diesel or Hydrogen, which then massively eases concerns regarding the lacking infrastructure required for a strict hydrogen engine.

They're doing this by using a  shared common short block for both the Diesel and the Hybrid fuel engines. The major change in Cummins Hydrogen Engine from a regular Diesel engine is everything from the head gasket down is just about the same, but everything from the head gasket up has to be changed for the new fuel type. And by sharing a common short block and as many components as they can, it not only makes development cheaper and easier but also makes it much easier to convert existing 6.7-liter and 15-liter engines over to the new hybrid fuel design shortly, at least in theory.

Cumins new biogas and HvO Fuel Engine

And on top of that, they're not even stopping there. This new fuel-agnostic platform is also expanding to biogas fuel and hvo fuel, giving prospective buyers lots of options coming very soon. For now, though, the big news and attention mostly lie on hydrogen fuel engines, and well part of the reason is that they’re not exactly practical yet. Because, the thing is you have to generate hydrogen, which requires electricity you can't generate energy for free. There are multiple videos on YouTube regarding hydrogen generators and how you can plug one into your car, and don’t get me wrong, that's very interesting. But if we think pragmatically building an onboard hydrogen generator that can power a 6.7-liter or 15-liter engine simply isn't practical. It would be physically massive.

Liquid hydrogen /On Board Hydrogen Generating

So, the other solution if you want to have a large 6.7L or 15L engine powered by hydrogen is by using liquid hydrogen and to do that you need to have an onboard storage tank or multiple onboard storage tanks, but there’s only one problem, hydrogen isn't a liquid, at least not until it's cooled to negative 423 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, that in itself takes energy, and then the hydrogen won't stay in that liquid state as it heats back up, which then means you need to have a massively pressurized holding tank to keep it in that liquid state, that means the standard fuel tank cannot be used, it has to be swapped out. 

It is not that a hydrogen-powered future is impossible. I do believe hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines have a lot of potentials, but simply that onboard generation will be a very challenging task with an engine this large. It’s just not going to be possible as of right now, which means we're stuck with using liquid hydrogen, which then has its own sets of hurdles and obstacles to overcome. And on top of that, just one question here, if it takes electricity to generate hydrogen through electrolysis to then burn through a combustion engine then why don't we just use that electricity to power an electric motor connected to the wheels, in the first place?

How Cummins is preparing for an alternative to Electricity?

That takes us right back to the start. Some hurdles must be cleared for hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines to be adopted in masses. On the bright side, hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines are very similar to compressed natural gas engines, which again, simplifies the development process even further. And because the upcoming Cummins hydrogen-powered engines are based on existing Cummins diesel engines, that almost eliminates the possibility of reliability issues, since existing Cummins diesel is incredibly reliable or at least as reliable as they can be given the emission systems that we know plague reliability.

Cumins Hydrogen Engine Specifications

That means it can also build up to existing transmissions, generators, etc. It can also use the same cooling systems and a bunch of components. It makes it much easier by using a shared platform. Cummins Hydrogen internal combustion Engine specifications are 6.7-liter hydrogen engine outputs an impressive 216  kilowatts and 1200 newton meters, which translates to 290 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque.

And Cummins believes that hydrogen-powered engines will be complementary to battery electric vehicles like buses and trucks, but that one powertrain type won't completely replace the other. As I mentioned earlier, there will be significant use cases for both types of engines, and I think that's exactly what Cummins is trying to prepare for. By not switching entirely to hydrogen, by not switching entirely to electric, they're diversifying their product lineup and preparing to offer products for a wide range of applications.

Has Cummins's diesel segment been dead?

No, far from it. We're going to see Cummins diesel engines produced for a very long time and if they can massively clean up their diesel engines without adding even more reliability plaguing emission systems, by using something, like, ducted fuel injection or something, to come up with some sort of innovation to help clean up their engines, we could see Cummins diesel engines being used for another 20/30/40/50 years, depending on how they evolve. But, with the upcoming EPA regulations, we know that it that in fact might not be possible. So, Cummins is preparing for the worst and they're diversifying their product lineup by offering engines that can run on multiple different fuel sources by running on the same base engine.

Other Companies that are developing Hydrogen Powered Engine

And it's also worth noting, it's not like Cummins is doing this on their own. There are a ton of different companies putting money into hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines. Over in Japan, companies like Mazda, Yamaha, Toyota, and Kawasaki, have all banded together to develop hydrogen solutions. All of these companies compete with each other in some way, yet they're working together towards saving the internal combustion engine.

Cummins is also working with various other companies to push this technology and make it a truly viable solution, because again, battery electric vehicles are simply impractical for long distances over the road trucking and Highway construction, at least for now. And while this is all very interesting and very exciting, we likely won't be seeing either the 6.7-liter or 15-liter hydrogen engines enter production for quite a while.

As per Cummins, the 15-liter engine will enter full production in 2027 and the 6.7-liter should be as soon as 2023.

In my opinion, the diesel engine still has a way to go, it's still going to be used for quite a while because as mentioned previously, off-highway construction is a huge hurdle to clear for electric vehicles and is simply not going to be practical for a significant amount of time. The next decade, two, or three, will have a lot of innovation in the automotive world, in the engine world, and we could see things change massively. So, all we can do as of right now is just sit back and wait to see how this all unfolds. 

Conclusion

In summary, while Cummin's Hydrogen Engine is an exciting development, it's unlikely to be the sole cause of the decline of diesel engines in the short term. However, it's a step towards a more sustainable future for transportation and could eventually play a significant role in reducing emissions and improving air quality in the coming years.