When will E10 biofuel replace all mineral gasoline?

The Ministry of Industry and Trade recently released a draft regulation on the roadmap for applying the blending ratio of biofuels with traditional fuels in Vietnam.

According to the expected schedule, from January 1, 2026, sales will begin. E10 biofuel and from January 1, 2031, all gasoline mixed, blended, and sold for use in gasoline-powered motor vehicles nationwide will be E15 gasoline or biofuel.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade , during the time when regulations are not mandatory, organizations and individuals are encouraged to participate in the production, blending, mixing, trading and use of biodiesel (B5, B10).

E10 gasoline is a finished gasoline product made from mineral gasoline derived from fossil fuels along with biofuels, in which fuel alcohol is mixed at a certain ratio. According to the regulations in QCVN 01:2022/BKHCN on gasoline, diesel fuel and biofuels, E10 gasoline is biofuel with a fuel alcohol content of 9 - 10% by volume.

Not only contributing to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, E10 gasoline also shows many outstanding advantages in engine operation and environmental protection.

Regarding consumption and supply, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the whole country will need 1.5 million m³ of E10 gasoline per year for blending, based on total gasoline demand of about 15 million m³ in 2024.

"In terms of production, import and blending capacity, Vietnam can completely implement mandatory E10 from January 1, 2026," Ministry of Industry and Trade confirmed.

E10 gasoline has been sold on the market since August 1. (Illustration photo)

Where is biofuel sold?

To achieve the set goal, from August 1, 2025, 3 cities including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi , and Hai Phong have started selling E10 gasoline, a biofuel mixed with 10% ethanol in mineral gasoline.

Specifically, from the pilot sale date of August 1 to September 7, on average, each PVOIL gas station in Hanoi, including Nghia Tan gas station; Lien Ninh gas station; Thai Thinh gas station and Chau Can gas station, consumed about 15m³ per day.

The amount of E10 RON95 gasoline consumed by PVOIL in Hai Phong is Thanh To gas station and Tan Duong gas station, consuming about 6m³ per day.

PVOIL also said that from August 28, the processing and blending unit for customers who are key enterprises and retail E10 RON95 gasoline at 5 stores in the Central region including Thien But gasoline store; Dung Quat Port gasoline store; Tran Phu gasoline store, Nguyen Huu Tho gasoline store and Pham Hung gasoline store (Quang Ngai) sold an average of more than 5m3 per day.

“Customers are all in need of buying and experiencing E10 gasoline and acceptance is gradually increasing. In preparation for the roadmap to put E10 gasoline into mandatory use from January 1, 2026, PVOIL is upgrading and renovating PVOIL’s current E5 RON92 gasoline blending stations at strategic warehouses nationwide, meeting the demand for E10 gasoline trading,” PVOIL representative said.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, E10 gasoline is gradually being accepted by consumers, but sales volume is still low.

“Currently, the unit sells E10 gasoline at 36 stores. On average, the unit consumes about 40m³ of E10 gasoline per day, double the amount when it first launched. By the end of August 31, we had consumed nearly 1,500m³. However, the amount of E10 gasoline consumed was only equivalent to 1/10 of RON95 gasoline,” representative of Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), the unit selling E10 gasoline in Ho Chi Minh City said.

The above data shows that consumer trends and habits are changing positively towards E10 gasoline.

What do experts say about biofuel?

Mr. Bui Ngoc Bao, Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, said that it is expected that from 2026, the market will no longer sell traditional mineral gasoline and E5 gasoline again.

"Thus, it can be understood that we stop circulating these two types as we did with A83 and A90 gasoline. This means that the retail distribution system only sells E10 gasoline.

The nationwide sale of E10 gasoline from January 1, 2026 is appropriate and meets the requirements of the transition to green energy and environmentally friendly energy. Countries around the world are facing three serious problems: high fuel prices, climate change and air pollution.

Therefore, using biofuels for transportation brings advantages in energy security, reducing environmental pollution and socio-economic development, " said Mr. Bao.

According to Mr. Bao, E10 gasoline should have been produced and sold on a mass scale since 2017 according to Decision No. 53/2012/QD-TTg issued on November 22, 2012 by the Prime Minister.

“This roadmap has been delayed continuously, initially until 2020, then again until 2022. This time, we and the Ministry of Industry and Trade both proposed to implement it from January 1, 2026 in a thorough manner, not to sell it in parallel with mineral gasoline and E5 gasoline anymore,” Mr. Bao said.

The Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association also noted that cars manufactured and imported into Vietnam from 2022 have engines that meet Euro 5 emission standards. Therefore, when using E10 gasoline, it will be cleaner, bringing better benefits in reducing pollutant emissions. For cars with Euro 3-4 engines, the use of E10 gasoline will also not be affected.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/khi-nao-xang-sinh-e10-thay-the-toan-bo-xang-khoang-5058211.html