The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that ethanol-blended E10 fuel will go on sale at British petrol stations as early as September this year.

A combination of 90% conventional petrol and 10% ethanol biofuel derived from sugar, grain and wood, the E10 mix is intended to help cut carbon dioxide emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year.

A similar E5 blend of 95% petrol and 5% biofuel is already widely available in the UK and it will continue to be sold as the so-called ‘Super’ grade. Some machines will only be able to use E5 and not E10, and the DfT has advised anyone unsure of whether their vehicle can run on E10 to consult their checker here.

However, the transition to any type of biofuel may not be possible for all motorcycles for technical reasons and some owners have found that using fuels with ethanol components has led to damage to their machines.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re going further and faster than ever to cut emissions from our roads, cleaning up our air as we accelerate towards a zero-emission transport future.

“Although more and more motorists are driving electric vehicles, there are steps we can take to reduce emissions from the millions of vehicles already on our roads – the small switch to E10 petrol will help drivers across the country reduce the environmental impact of every journey, as we build back greener.”