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EPA approves E30 research for conventional vehicles in Nebraska

The EPA has approved the second phase of a research study in a Western Corn Belt state that could show E30 is safe and reliable for conventional vehicles.  

Jan TenBensel, Chairmen of the Nebraska Ethanol Board, says he expects that the results will be good news for drivers and producers. “We’re going to be able to really, really drive home higher ethanol blends, mid-level blends – E30 are a really good way to go to lower carbon, lower the cost at the pump and just be a darn good operation for Nebraska, our farmers and for America.”

Under current EPA guidelines, only flex fuel vehicles (FFV’s) can use ethanol blends higher than E15.

In 2019, 50 state-owned vehicles used E30 for an entire year and the findings showed that it’s safe and efficient for non-FFVs. This fall more than 800 vehicles will use the higher-octane fuel.

TenBensel says the results could help support regulatory changes that would make E30 accessible to all drivers. “It shows regulators and the EPA if we do develop a next generation fuels program with higher octane fuels that legacy vehicles can still use high octane fuels and get some benefits from them.”

Nebraska outfitted the vehicles with an on-board tracking system to capture data on vehicle performance and were monitored for an entire year.  Data was submitted to engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for analysis.

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