Ethanol: Stellantis, Honda and Toyota highlight sustainability and technological interest.

Today is Monday, April 22, 2024.

Stellantis and Honda recently announced interest in ethanol as a key fuel for more sustainable mobility. In addition to resuming the focus on the production of ethanol-powered vehicles, there will also be the use of much more modern technologies, including in synergy with hybrid solutions.

The use of ethanol as a vehicle fuel in Brazil dates back to the 1970s, when successive oil price crises led the country to create the Pro-Alcohol Program. Since then, the fleet of ethanol-powered cars in Brazil has only grown, especially after electronic injection technology, which allowed the mixture of fuel in the vehicles' tanks, without affecting their performance. The same vehicle can run on 100% ethanol or 100% gasoline or any mixture of these two fuels. These vehicles are known as FLEX. Currently, 80% of the Brazilian vehicle fleet has FLEX engines, with more than 40 million cars sold in the last 20 years. Even gasoline itself already has 27.5% (35% soon) of ethanol mixed in, resulting in better air quality in Brazilian cities, compared to other places.

Stellantis, a company created in January 2021, from the merger between the Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Peugeot-Citroën (PSA) groups, with a vision of sustainable mobility, released a comparison of CO2 emissions, confirming the advantages of ethanol for more sustainable mobility. Adopting the "cradle to grave" concept in the tests, that is, the complete life cycle of the car, look how interesting results:

* Gasoline (E27): 60.64 kg CO2eq

* 100% electric (BEV) with European energy: 30.41 kg CO2eq

* Ethanol (E100): 25.79 kg CO2eq

* 100% electric (BEV) with Brazilian energy: 21.45 kg CO2eq

According to the Stellantis press release, “the results prove the comparative advantages of the Brazilian energy matrix, mainly the importance of biofuels”. The vehicle fuelled with ethanol reduces the carbon footprint by more than 60%.

Click on the image below to read more about the study mentioned above, as well as about the BIO-ELECTRO platform, the Brazilian hybrid that combines ethanol and electrification, in addition to finding out more about Stellantis' decarbonization strategy. At the end of the press release there is a video comparing CO2 emissions in real time.

About Honda, according to its press release dated April 19, 2024, “Honda values ​​ethanol as a fuel from a natural, renewable source and available on a large scale in Brazil, aligned with a low-carbon economy. With this announcement, Honda Automóveis do Brasil will take an important step towards the diversification of electrified products in its portfolio, with the introduction of its exclusive e:HEV flex technology in the Brazilian market.” In other words, hybrid-flex technology.

Click here for the Honda press release.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Toyota had also already noted Brazil's situation as a major producer of ethanol - low carbon - and with national infrastructure already available for use: “The best solution for Brazil in Toyota's view is the hybrid-FLEX !”. Click here and see the image of the post.

Here are all our posts related to ethanol.

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Stellantis video comparing CO2 emissions in real time. Source EPE Brazilian Energy Research Office and Carbon Net Zero Stellantis.