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Driven by environmental, economic, and energy security concerns, the availability and use of E85 is growing nationally. E85 is composed of 85 percent ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and just 15 percent petroleum. E85 is designed for use in flexible fuel vehicles, referred to as "FFVs." According to the Energy Information Administration, there are over four million light-duty flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the United States.
These are operated by private citizens as well as business and government fleets. FFVs may fuel with either E85 and/or gasoline interchangeably. Most FFVs are still fueled with gasoline, but the availability of E85 and FFVs is expected to increase significantly in the next few years.
Benefits of E85
Use this information to learn the benefits of E85 and see why this fuel has great potential for fleet applications.
E85 is easy to use and handle - E85 fueling equipment is slightly different and of similar cost to equipment used to store and dispense petroleum fuels. In some cases, it may be possible to convert your existing petroleum equipment to handle E85.
Using E85 reduces petroleum consumption - Use of E85 will reduce a fleet's overall use of petroleum and replace it with a renewable-based fuel produced ("grown") in the United States.
E85 is good for the environment - Beyond operational ease, E85 offers considerable environmental benefits. To learn more about fuel economy, greenhouse gas scores, and air pollution scores for individual vehicles, go to the U.S. Department of Energy/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's on-line Fuel Economy Guide.
You can search for E85-fueled vehicles by selecting "flexible-fueled vehicles" in the "Select Vehicle Type" pull-down menu. Once you are there, select individual vehicles to get fuel economy, greenhouse gas, and air pollution details.
Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) are available and affordable - FFVs specifically designed to run on E85 are becoming more common each model year, and FFVs are typically available as standard equipment with little or no incremental cost. See the current model year FFVs.
FFVs have flexible fueling options - FFVs may operate on gasoline, and, in fact, most of the 4 million FFVs on US roadways do today.
Although that is not a positive from an E85-use standpoint, it does underscore the flexibility FFVs offer fleets. When E85 is not available, or an FFV travels outside the fueling network, a driver may simply fuel with either fuel as the situation dictates. DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center