The UK and Decarbonizing Transport

by Brian Healy (Ethanol Producer Magazine/U.S. Grains Council) Through expanded ethanol use, the U.K. has an opportunity to meet its decarbonization objectives and support the domestic facilities that have gone offline. The country should build on its established technical knowledge for E5 as it moves to E10.

Consultations about decarbonizing transport are ongoing in the U.K., as the country considers transitioning from its current 5% to 10% ethanol blend rate. A national E10 ethanol policy would make a substantial contribution toward achieving the decarbonization goals by reducing emissions and fully capturing the octane value of ethanol.

The most affordable and impactful change that can be made is to immediately institute a national minimum requirement of a 10% ethanol blend. The U.K. has cited the importance of reducing emissions from the transport sector in response to the International Energy Agency’s 2-degrees-Celsius scenario and Paris Climate Accord. In the U.K., the transport sector is responsible for approximately 20% of national emissions. Perhaps most relevant to the development of the U.K.’s decarbonization plan is the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction qualities of ethanol when blended into the transportation fuel mix. According to a 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture study, corn-based ethanol achieves a 39% to 43% reduction in GHG emissions compared to gasoline on an energy equivalent basis, and ethanol’s GHG reduction performance is only improving to achieve GHG reductions of 70% by 2022.

Because of ethanol’s high-octane, low-cost properties, blending E10 can reduce the cost of producing finished gasoline.

But the Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation consultation language places a 4% cap on crop-derived biofuels, which will decrease to 2% in 2032. Capping crop-based biofuels would severely limit the U.K. government’s ability to meet its potential E10 blending goal. READ MORE