E10 petrol: What is the new eco-fuel and can everyone use it?

A new more eco-friendly petrol is rolling out to petrol pumps in the UK.

The new petrol in question is called E10 and is a newer version of the standard unleaded E5 petrol which can be found at petrol stations across the UK.

The Department for Transport says that introducing E10 could help to cut carbon emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year - that's the same as taking 350,000 cars off the road.

But what is E10, how is it more eco-friendly, and can all cars use it?

E10 is a type of petrol that contains less carbon than other car fuel, and ethanol, which is a kind of alcohol made from plants like corn, sugars and waste wood.

It is called E10 because 10% of it will be made of plant-based ethanol, and the other 90% will be regular petrol.

The government says the renewable ethanol will help to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which are released by petrol cars, to help tackle the effects of climate change and pollution.

Yes and no.

Every petrol car built after 2011 should be able to accept E10 but it will not work with some older cars.

The government has said that around 95% of all petrol cars in the UK will be able to use the new fuel, but that leaves around 600,000 unable to accept it (according to estimates from the RAC).

The government has set up a website which allows people to check if E10 will work with their car.

For those cars that aren't compatible, they will have to use the E5 super unleaded petrol instead, which the RAC says can cost more money than the standard unleaded petrol.

The new fuel is being rolled out everywhere in the UK except Northern Ireland, where it is not due to arrive until 2022.

Petrol isn't the only fuel that can be used to power vehicles, there is also:

Diesel, like petrol is made from oil and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). However, the Department for Transport has said that, per kilometre travelled, cars that use diesel have lower CO2 emissions.

Hybrids use more than one type of power to move the car. This can be a combination of petrol or diesel fuel, and electricity, which can be obtained by charging a battery in the car.

This means that hybrid cars do still release carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but less than solely petrol or diesel cars.

Finally there are electric cars, which run completely from an electric battery that is plugged in and charged, like you would a mobile phone.

Although the cars do not release any CO2 gasses, they do use power that comes from electricity grids, many of which burn fossil fuels to power our homes.

By 2030, the government is planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, and cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035.

This goes alongside its push to increase the number of electric vehicles, and reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

It's estimated that the UK will need around 280,000 - 480,000 charging points for the electric cars by 2030.