Total Opens Its First E85 Pump in Paris; Plans 200 in France

10 October 2006

Total has opened its first flex-fuel E85 pump in Paris in the service station at Porte d’Orléans. Total has already identified 70 points of sale in its network suitable for E85 distribution; it plans to find at least an additional 130 more to bring its total E85 stations to 200 throughout France.

That 200 would represent 40% of the 500 targeted by the French government as part of a major action plan for flex-fuel vehicles and infrastructure beginning next year. (Earlier post.) The recommendations for the action plan came from a report for the government submitted by ex-Formula one racing driver Alain Prost.

Total also said that it wished to be a signatory of the Charter for Ethanol E85. The Charter is another of the recommendations of the Prost plan, and requires signatories to delineate their commitments to making E85 ethanol accessible and competitive.

The French government has set a target of a 7% share for biofuels by 2010.

Resources:

• Rapport du groupe de travail sur le soutien au développement de la filière E85 (Prost report, French)