“The industry is working towards the PM’s vision of ethanol-based mobility as one of the pathways for carbon neutrality and fostering sustainable mobility,” said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India (GoI).
Addressing the seminar on ‘Promotion of Biofuels: A Pathway for Low Carbon Mobility’, conducted by SIAM on the occasion of World Biofuel Day 2022, he said the roadmap for ethanol blending has detailed pathways for achieving 20% blending by 2025.
The result of the country’s 10% blending is that India made foreign exchange savings of INR 41,500 crore, timely payment of INR 40,600 crore to farmers and a reduction of 27 lakh tonne of CO2 emissions he added.
Meanwhile, Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, GoI, said, “Ecology and economy both intersect eachother in more than one way.”
He continued that the Indian automobile sector is the only sector wherein policies are leading practices, and in the next seven to eight years, mobility will change as it is seen today.
“We are looking at producing 10-12 billion liters of ethanol by 2025 and we are conscious about the dispensing of E20 fuel by as early as April 2023. We strongly believe that Flex fuel vehicles are going to matter in the future,” he said.
During the seminar, the secretary also unveiled the 'SIAM Microbial Report on crop residue management in Punjab.'
It must be noted that on the occasion of World Biofuel Day 2022, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India inaugurated the country’s first 2G biofuel refinery in Panipat. The refinery is said to build on a budget of INR 900 crore and will utilise two lakh tonne of rice straw annually to produce three crore litres of ethanol per annum. Additionally, the commercial production of ethanol from the refinery is said to commence within the next 90 days.
Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industry, GoI, noted that India produces 2% of the global ethanol whereas the USA and Brazil each produce 53% and 31% of global ethanol, respectively. Brazil, on average, blends 31% of ethanol, whereas in India, currently, it is 10%. However, the South American nation majorly depends on sugarcane for ethanol production, and in India, we have multiple sources, including sugarcane, maze, cotton straw, broken rice and many more.
Additionally, he noted that BHEL, under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, has completed the pilot project plant for converting coal to methanol of 0.25 tonne per day with a purity of 99%.
Besides road transportation, India is also working on sustainable fuel aviation. Dr SSV Ramakumar, Director-R&D, Indian Oil Corporation, noted that the company is setting up two SAF units in the northern and western parts of India.
Meanwhile, P S Ravi, ED, BPCL, noted that India has built the capability to produce and transport e20 biofuel across the nation.
He assured that the oil industries of the country will leave no stones unturned to ensure the availability of flex-fuel and biofuel in the country.
Dr Reji Mathai, Director, ARAI, opined that the surplus sugarcane production in the country will help us meet the ethanol demand in the future.
Amit Mehta, Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industries, GoI, opined that implementing blended ethanol fuel can save up to INR 30,000 crore per annum. As mobility needs are increasing, their subsequent impacts are also intensifying.
Addressing Elephant In The Room
Although the country is taking enough steps to ensure the availability of biofuel and flex-fuel, it must be noted that steps to ensure acceptability from the consumer side should also happen.
Vikram Kasbekar, Executive Director, Hero MotoCorp, said that all stakeholders should look at the end consumer, particularly regarding energy loss and loss of fuel efficiencies with these types of fuels.
While Dr Anjan Ray, Director, IIP, noted that there is a need to revolutionise at the district level and teach them the use and the benefits of biofuels.
Sharing Brazil’s perspective, Eduardo Leao De Souza, ED, UNICA, said, when a country looks at clean energy, it must be ensured that policies must be in place. To expedite the adoption of biofuels and flex-fuel, there should be tax differentiation between these fuels and fossil fuels, he concluded.