Today (Monday 9th October 2006) Maxol, Ireland’s leading independent oil company welcomed the news that Saab was making available the first Saab 9-5 BioPower vehicle in Ireland which will run on bio-ethanol (E85) fuel. This launch by Saab supports the Government’s national bio-energy action plan which aims to have biofuels represent 2% of the Irish transport fuel market by 2008.

This Flexi Fuel Vehicle (FFV) is capable of running on any mixture of petrol or E85 bio-ethanol, from a single tank, with no reduction in performance. Importantly, this allows the car to run even in areas where bio-ethanol outlets have not been established. 

Maxol has been at the forefront of introducing the benefits to the consumer of using environmentally friendly fuel such as bio-ethanol. The fuel provides an overall saving in CO2 emissions of up to 70% compared to the petrol equivalent. The bio-ethanol is manufactured from whey which is a milk derivative and sourced locally in Ireland from the Carbery Group.  This grade was introduced in September 2005 and is now exclusivily available at 9 Maxol outlets in the Republic of Ireland. 

Noel McMullan, a Director of the Maxol Group, said: -

“Maxol has always had the commitment to support the development of new technology which has the potential of giving Ireland an alternative renewable energy which is environmentally beneficial.  Bio-ethanol is a product which can assist  in part replacing fossil fuels in a mix of fuel which not only promotes lower CO2 emissions but the production of which can support a new industry in Ireland. So far Maxol has made E85 available at 9 of its service stations and plans to extend this to 12 by the end of 2006.

We are delighted to support all car manufacturers in the launch of these new FFV vehicle’s and will continue to extend our network with the E85 grade as demand increases in time. We are pleased to be a part of an early Government initiative to promote cleaner fuels in Ireland”. 

For further information visit www.maxol.ie/E85