SAE Update - February 2023 - 3

COmmEnTAry
52% compared to baseline gasoline.
Biorefineries and feedstock producers are
continually reducing their carbon intensity
and stand ready to ramp up to greater
volumes of clean, renewable liquid fuel with
pathways under development that could
achieve net-zero emissions.
The Next Generation Fuels Act (NGFA)
was introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives in August 2021 (H.R.
5089), and into the Senate in July 2022
(S.4621). While co-sponsorship of the
bipartisan, bicameral proposal grew
throughout 2022, the legislation must be
reintroduced in the new Congress that
convened in January.
The NGFA would establish a clean, highoctane
standard for U.S. fuel (the U.S.
currently has no national minimum octane
standard). This legislation approaches fuel
and vehicles as a system, setting a clean,
high-octane standard for fuel and requiring
all new SI-engine vehicles be certified using
the new high-octane, low-carbon fuels. This
would allow automakers to produce
vehicles with more efficient engines at
lower cost to consumers in the near term.
Experts agree that the U.S. will continue to
consume liquid fuels for decades, regardless
of aggressive growth in EV sales and
recharging infrastructure. It is imperative
that cleaner, lower-carbon fuels play a larger
role to expedite the transition to a lowcarbon
future. Production of high-octane
blends with 20-30% ethanol (E20-E30)
would be straightforward with today's
UPDATE
gasoline blendstocks because small amounts
of ethanol provide dramatic increases in
octane as shown in Figure 1. Fuels containing
higher blends of lower carbon ethanol,
combined with improved engine efficiency,
would save millions of tons of GHG, while
also curbing petroleum consumption and
cutting consumers' fuel costs.
In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) approved the use of 15%
ethanol blends (E15) for all 2001 and newer
light-duty vehicles, citing the Department
of Energy (DOE) Mid-Level Ethanol Blends
Program as a source of critical data to help
make that decision. It is important to note
that when the DOE conducted its materials
and vehicle emissions durability program,
E20 blends performed similarly to E15,
demonstrating the capability of also using
E20 in the legacy fleet. The added benefits
of transitioning to an E20 fuel, compared to
the benefits of E10 or E15 fuel, would be
immense. If only half the gasoline vehicles
on the road used E20 instead of the
standard E10, our nation would save 40
million tonnes of GHG in only the first year.
Transitioning to high-octane, low-carbon
fuel composed of higher blends of domestic
ethanol would have many benefits:
* Renewable fuel results in fewer lifecycle
GHGs and offers pathways for net-zeroemissions
fuel
* Domestically produced fuel reduces
imports, enhancing energy security
* Ethanol boosts octane, enabling higher
efficiency and further reducing GHGs
February 2023
3
https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5089/BILLS-117hr5089ih.pdf https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr5089/BILLS-117hr5089ih.pdf
SAE Update - February 2023

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