In a co-operation with Ford Ireland, Maxol, the country's leading independent fuel retailer, is sourcing ethanol (alcohol) from a milk derivative supplied by Carbery Milk Products in West Cork. The Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche TD, was first to fuel the Flexifuel vehicle at the Maxol station in Sandymount, Dublin.

Boasting up to 80% fewer CO2 emissions than an equivalent petrol car, the Ford Focus FlexiFuel (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.

The Government granted a 50% rebate on Vehicle Registration tax (VRT) on the Focus FFV in February 2006. The special tax rebate is now available to customers at the point of purchase.

Ford’s fuel partner in this initiative, Maxol, has now made bioethanol available at 14 stations, with further outlets planned in the near future.

Along with the VRT reduction of 50% bio-thanol currently retails at around 87 cent, and if you are registered for VAT you can reclaim the VAT paid on bio-ethanol.