India To Launch 500 Ethanol Fuel Stations By Year-End

New Delhi: The Government of India plans to roll out 500 ethanol fuel stations across the country by the end of 2026, beginning with 50-100 stations in major cities such as Delhi-NCR, Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The announcement was made at an event where Maruti Suzuki unveiled India’s first flex-fuel car in the presence of Puri and Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways. Speaking at the launch, Puri projected that by 2027 India will have over 5,000 ethanol fuel stations, a move aimed at reducing the nation’s dependence on fossil fuel imports. “I think we are starting with about 50 to 100 (ethanol) dispensing stations in the Delhi-NCR region, Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur, etc. These 50-100 (ethanol) dispensing stations will hopefully go up to 500 towards the end of 2026,” he said.

Puri said making Euro VI vehicles compliant with E100 could cut India’s $120 billion fossil fuel imports. He added that the government is working to boost adoption with measures like pricing support, road tax concessions, E85 testing fuel, identifiers for flex-fuel vehicles and outlets, consumer awareness campaigns, and infrastructure for storage and dispensing.

This is not merely a transition in fuel, but it is the creation of a complete ecosystem for cleaner mobility, stronger energy security, and greater self-reliance,” he said.

Referring to the launch of Hero MotoCorp’s Splendor+ and HF Deluxe Flex Fuel motorcycles, the minister said that if half of all new two- and four-wheelers are flex-fuel compliant, India could unlock 311.8 crore litres of ethanol demand and generate Rs 12,403 crore in additional farmer income. He noted ethanol blending in petrol has already risen from 1.5 per cent in 2014 to 20 per cent today, saving Rs 1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange by substituting 302 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil.