Owners of old petrol cars are advised to get their vehicle checked to ensure that it runs well on a new fuel mixture that will be at pumps from April 1.
There may be 24,000 or more vehicles on the road here of makes and models that were not built for the new E10 fuel.
The Department of Transportation says this doesn’t mean the fuel can’t be used, but it may be subject to more corrosion than normal in some rubber components.
The department is promoting two databases where you can check E10 compatibility of car makes and models.
Petrol in Ireland is currently rated E5, as it contains up to 5% bioethanol which is derived from vegetable waste, reports Independent.
Helps in reducing the carbon emissions of vehicles running on fossil fuels.
From 1 April, the amount of bioethanol will double to E10, to reduce the emissions from the one million nearly exhausted petrol cars running here.
E10 is standard in most of the European Union as well as Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most car manufacturers have produced E10 compatible parts since the 1990s.
But older models of some car brands may be subject to wear on some parts, especially rubber components, due to the high corrosive power of ethanol.
A government website gov.ie/E10 has been set up to explain the switch and includes links to the UK Government Vehicle Inspection, which was set up when the UK introduces E10 in 2021, reports Independent.
It also has links to the Equal Inspection Service of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
Fuel for Ireland, the representative body of fuel importers and distributors, said they did not expect the switch to E10 to cause difficulties for Irish motorists.
Some outlets in the UK stocked the E5 for older vehicles but demand was low.
No Irish outlets were expected to follow suit as demand would be low and would require setting up separate storage facilities for the two blends.
A spokesperson said that they are aware of a motor additive sold in some motor supply stores to counteract any effects of E10, but could not quantify its need or its effectiveness.
The Department for Transport said it needed to publish formal rules next week, set for a few weeks for public consultation, but aimed to have the new mix at the pumps by 1 April.
A public information campaign will be conducted in traditional media and social media and forecourts across the country to explain the change.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the change was part of a wider plan to halve transport carbon emissions by 2030.
“While there has seen a big uptake in electric vehicles, we need to continue with measures that can have an immediate impact on emission from vehicles that are already on Irish roads. Measures such as moving to E10 petrol mean that we can reduce our emissions from transport further, move us closer to reaching our climate targets,” reports Independent.
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