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Talking about fuel, the focus tends to be on price and what to do about it. We never really think about the type of fuel we are buying becuase its fairly technical and we dont have much control over it.
However, the requirements of the European Fuel Quality Directive mean that drivers in EU member states (including the UK) will start to come across new fuels at the pump. In particular:
. The main grade of unleaded petrol will change to one that contains up to 10% ethanol
. Diesel will contain up to 7% FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester).
Ethanol is a renewable energy source so it's added to fuel as a means of reducing environmental impact and to make depleting fuel stocks go further.
Today's unleaded petrol already contains up to 5% of ethanol but new grades will include a more significant concentration.
In the short term, current grades will remain available at the pump; in fact the Fuel Quality Directive requires fuel suppliers to ensure its continued supply until 2013 at least.
But the feedback from the fuel suppliers is that, during the next year, the new fuels will be introduced more widely and may well become the main petrol grade over the next few years.
Recommendations are currently being made for how the fuel pump should be marked so that consumers are fully informed about the fuel that they are putting into a vehicle.
This is especially important because while the new grade of diesel can be used in all diesel vehicles, there are concerns regarding the use of the new grade of unleaded.
The worry is that it may not be compatible with some older vehicles and may cause issues if used over a period of time.
There's not much that you can do about it and this is really just a heads up to help you understand what you're buying. Most of us spend thousands each year on fuel and with any other product holding a similar value we would know the specification inside out.
So keep an eye out for new fuels to give you an idea of what you are paying for at the pumps.
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