Ricardo reveals E15 poses minimal risk to older US vehicles 17 September 2010

A study carried out by Ricardo for the Renewable Fuels Association reveals that the impact on older vehicles in the US fleet – those assembled between 1994 and 2000 – are at minimal risk from raising the ethanol blend limit from E10 to E15.

Minimal engineering analysis has previously been focused on models designed and built before 2001, but Ricardo points to the fact that the proportion of vehicles manufactured earlier but still in use today is significant.

Ricardo president Kent Niederhofer explains that six automotive manufacturers were identified as representing the overwhelming majority of vehicles sales for the study period, and the top selling platforms were studied.

"In considering the potential risks and benefits of increasing the current ethanol blend ceiling in regular gasoline from 10 to 15 percent, it is crucial that the interests of the potentially very large stakeholder group represented by the owners of these vehicles are investigated," comments Niederhofer.

"While many previous studies by Ricardo and others have evaluated the impact of higher ethanol blends on newer vehicles, this study demonstrates for the first time that raising the blend ceiling to E15 is likely to have a negligible impact on vehicles manufactured between 1994 and 2000," he concludes.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Ricardo plc

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