An inquiry has been launched to understand the issues and barriers around introducing E10 in the UK which is already available in many other developed nations.
E10 is a blend of fuel containing ten percent bioethanol already sold in other developed countries including Germany, Belgium, France, Finland and the US.
The British bioethanol industry - which is worth a billion pounds to the UK economy - is in a state of collapse.
However, experts believe that the introduction of E10 could help bring it back from the brink.
They say the introduction of E10 fuel would help the country meet its climate change commitments and support British farmers.
Bioethanol is fermented from feed wheat which is grown by farmers and would not otherwise go into the food chain.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Bioethanol is a group of cross party MPs with a stated purpose to “raise awareness of the industry, its economic impact, the supporting role it plays for British agriculture, and the environmental benefits of the bioethanol it produces.”
The group has launched the inquiry looking at introducing E10 in the UK.
This inquiry follows announcements last year from two of the UK’s largest bioethanol producers Vivergo and Ensus - to cease and pause production due to insufficient demand in the UK where only E5 - a blend of fuel containing five percent bioethanol - is available.
Vivergo sourced from 900 farms and Ensus, which has since re-opened at 'reduced capacity', supports around 2,000 jobs in the supply chain, including those in the farming industry across the north of England.
It comes ahead of an anticipated announcement later this year by the Department for Transport on E10.
The APPG will be seeking written evidence from all private and public bodies and individuals with an interest in the production or use of bioethanol including farmers and bioethanol producers.
Chair of the APPG for British Bioethanol and MP, Nic Dakin said: “While securing the future of the Industry on which thousands of jobs depend, introducing E10 could also help the UK meet its carbon reduction and air quality improvement targets, making it an issue urgently needing further investigation.”
Grant Pearson, Commercial Director at Ensus Fuels added: “After years of delay and false dawns, the bioethanol industry now needs urgent progress on E10 which if introduced, could bring this one billion pound industry back from the brink of collapse.
“As E10 is cleaner and greener than the current E5 fuel, making it available at UK pumps is a no brainer, but we hope this inquiry will identify any remaining barriers to its introduction and ways to quickly overcome them.”
