E10 Unleaded Petrol

When you fill up your car with unleaded petrol, you will be using E5 unleaded petrol. The E stands for ethanol and the 5 means it contains up to 5% renewable ethanol. E5 is the current petrol grade in the UK but not for much longer.

E10 is a new unleaded petrol that has twice as much bioethanol as E5 unleaded petrol. It is a mixture of regular unleaded petrol and 10% ethanol. And ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel produced from grains, sugars and waste-wood so it is considered to be much better for the environment. In fact, it has been estimated that E10 could reduce CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes every year and this is equivalent to 350,000 less cars being on the road!

E10 will become the new petrol grade in the UK and replace E5 unleaded petrol from September BUT it is not compatible with all cars. It has been estimated that well over half a million cars will not be compatible with E10 so it is vital that you check your vehicle’s compatibility at https://check-vehicle-compatibility-e10-petrol.service.go. If you put E10 fuel in an incompatible car, it may well still run but seals, plastics and metals may become damaged over a period of time due to the corrosive properties in the fuel. It has also been reported that E10 may be a less stable fuel which means a car that hasn’t been driven for a period of time may be more difficult to start.

So, from September, E10 will be the new Unleaded Petrol grade in the UK and E5 will only be available as a Super Unleaded petrol in most service stations.