E20 Supply and Demand Study

Renewable ethanol is expected to play an important role in the realisation of the EU’s energy and climate ambitions to 2030. One of the main factors limiting the potential contribution of renewable ethanol to decarbonisation of the road vehicle fleet is the level at which ethanol is blended into gasoline. One option to overcome this is through the standardisation and use of mid-level ethanol blends in gasoline, such as an E20 grade which could use ethanol (up to 20% in volume) and/or other oxygenates (such as ETBE). Work ongoing over the last five years has shown that higher blends are a valid option for ethanol blending in gasoline. In this study, E4tech investigates the potential demand for ethanol in 2030 if E20 were used across the gasoline pool in two scenarios, and how this might be supplied.