Hybrids Running on E85 Ethanol Fuel: 5 Things to Know

1. Huge Petroleum Displacement Possible
We already know that gasoline-electric hybrid power is very fuel efficient. But what if a hybrid’s gasoline use was replaced by E85 ethanol – a mostly renewable fuel – in these increasingly popular vehicles? According to some sources, if just 5 percent of the total vehicle fleet in the U.S. was powered by hybrids running on E85 fuel, the country’s oil imports would be reduced by about 150 million barrels each year.

2. Ford Champions E85 Hybrid Power
While numerous automakers have E85 flexible-fuel models on the road, Ford is by far the most high-profile champion of combining this cleaner-burning alcohol fuel with hybrid propulsion. This automaker first began testing E85 Escape Hybrid SUVs in 2006. The following year, E85 Escape Hybrids began real-world testing in fleets, primarily in Midwest states where ethanol fuel is more commonly available.

3 Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Hybrid vehicles by nature achieve greater fuel efficiency and thus emit fewer greenhouse gases per mile. Internal combustion engines operating on ethanol also produce fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since ethanol is less carbon-rich than gasoline. Combine the two and you have a powerful approach for reducing GHG emissions in any vehicle. A Ford Escape hybrid operating exclusively on E85 fuel and electric power will produce about 25 percent less carbon dioxide than an Escape Hybrid that uses gasoline.

4. Next: The E85 Plug-In Hybrid
As a next step, Ford developed an E85 Escape plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) to test the waters further. As many are aware, extended electric range provided by a PHEV’s larger battery pack and its ability to use electricity from the grid means zero-emission motoring for longer periods of time. Longer trips in testbed PHEVs can often achieve a combined 100 mpg or better. Replace gasoline with E85 ethanol and you have a real winner.

5. Challenges Remain
Ethanol is a more volatile fuel than gasoline and thus creates issues with evaporative emissions. That means reaching PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicle) certification – a standard that many hybrids achieve with their near-zero evaporative emissions – is more challenging in an E85 hybrid. Since most hybrids run on electric power only at times, further difficulties are faced because their internal combustion engine’s evaporative vacuum system is not active with the engine shut down. More aggressive evaporative system technologies and approaches are the key to overcoming this challenge.