Ethiopia: Transport ministry goes green
By MulukenYewondwossen
The Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) is preparing a flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) directive in collaboration with stakeholders, such as Ministries of Mine and Energy (MoME) and Trade and Industry (MoTI).
According to a source at MoTC, in relation to the growth of ethanol production in the country, the Government has prepared the directive on highly ethanol blended (E85) vehicles.
The directive will include favourable importing conditions, such as minimal taxation. The new directive will help to encourage importers and customers to use FFVs and it will also contribute to saving the country’s foreign currency spent on fuel purchases.
Since early 2008, Ethiopia has used five per cent blended fuel. Nile Petroleum, a Sudanese company, has the sole right to blend and distribute the fuel.
In last year’s budget, Ethiopia spent over 15 billion birr on fuel, which was equal to the country’s exports.
Due to the increasing price and demand for fuel, the Government is working to increase ethanol production from the current eight million litres annual production, a five per cent demand coverage, to 130 million within the coming five years from its sugar factories: Metahara, Wonji and Finchaa. Tendaho Sugar Factory will be the fourth sugar factory in the country when its construction is completed in the near future. Tendaho will have the capacity to produce 55.4 million litres of ethanol.
FFVs are designed to run on gasoline or a blend of up to 85 per cent denatured ethanol and 15 per cent gasoline.
While pure ethanol is rarely used for transportation fuel, there are several ethanol-gasoline blends in use today.
The vehicles date back to the 1880s when Henry Ford designed a car that ran solely on ethanol. He later built the first FFV: a 1908 Model T designed to operate on either ethanol or gasoline.
These cars and trucks have the same power, acceleration, payload, and cruise speed as conventionally fuelled vehicles. Maintenance for ethanol-fuelled vehicles is very similar to that of regular cars and trucks. However, owners should identify the car as an FFV when ordering replacement parts.
Today most western countries are using environmentally friendly highly ethanol blended vehicles. These vehicles are available in a range of models, including sedans, pick-up trucks, and minivans. Branded carmakers are producing FF Vehicles and they have a big market.
The most common commercially available FFV in the market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle, with almost 16 million automobiles and light duty trucks on the roads around the world by early 2009, and concentrated in four markets, the United States (almost 8 million), Brazil (7.1 million), Canada, and Europe led by Sweden.
E85 also provides important reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. When made from corn, E85 reduces lifecycle GHG emissions (which include the energy required to grow and process corn into ethanol) by 15-20 per cent as compared to gasoline. E85 made from cellulose can reduce emissions by around 70 per cent as compared to gasoline.
Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from plants. Essentially non-drinkable grain alcohol, ethanol is produced by fermenting plant sugars. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, and other starchy agricultural products.
(Capital)
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