The government aims to achieve a full 20% ethanol mix by 2025-2026.
New Delhi: With India officially rolling out retail distribution of E20 fuel, a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol, the industry has gone to great lengths to work with the Center to deliver on its firm commitment to achieve the 20% ethanol blend target, advanced to FY 2025. from FY 2030, and reduce India’s emissions to net zero by 2070. As part of the E20 phase-out, oil marketing companies sell gasoline blended with 10% ethanol today, up from 1.5% gasoline blending in 2014. The government aims to achieve a full blend of 20% ethanol by 2025-26 and as per the phased roadmap, the project has made E20 fuel available at 84 OMC outlets in 11 states/ UT.
According to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry-CRISIL Market Intelligence, the achievements over the last eight years under the Ethanol Blending Program and the Biofuels Programme, including the blending of 10% ethanol five months before the target, they have helped the country reduce 318 years. thousands of metric tonnes of CO2 emissions and foreign exchange savings of around Rs 54 billion. Going forward, if India is able to implement a 20% ethanol blend in petrol by 2025-26, this is expected to replace 86 million barrels of petrol, resulting in foreign exchange savings of 30 billion rupees for India as well as a reduction of 10 million tonnes. of carbon emissions.
The E20 launch comes more than two months ahead of the Centre’s initial launch plan for April and amid India’s G20 presidency as it aims to expand the availability of E20 fuel across the country in collaboration with Indian companies lining up to support the government directive. on E20 fuel and its own net zero ambitions. The major timelines decided for E-20 implementation across India are 2023 for vehicles to be material compliant and 2025 for vehicles to be fully E-20 compliant.
While Indian Oil Corporation outlets will provide E20 fuel in Bengaluru and 14 other cities across India in the first phase, Jio-BP, which is a joint venture between Reliance Industries and British Petroleum, has offered customers with vehicles compatible with E20 gasoline that opt for this fuel. at select Jio-BP outlets. A key factor for the JV will be Reliance’s strong presence and deep expertise in consumer businesses in India, as well as BP’s global expertise in high-quality differentiated fuels, lubricants, convenience and advanced mobility solutions low carbon
To add momentum, OMCs are setting up 2G-3G ethanol plants that will facilitate progress. Indian Oil Corporation’s second-generation (2G) ethanol plant at Panipat, built at an estimated cost of over Rs 900 crore near the Panipat refinery, will open a new chapter in converting waste to wealth by the use of about 2 lakh tonnes of rice straw (parali) annually to generate about 3 million liters of ethanol annually. With this plant, the Government plans to gradually eliminate the emissions of about three billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year with a reduction in the combustion of rice straw (parali), which can be equivalent to the replacement of nearly 63,000 cars annually on the country’s roads.
The auto industry is taking the lead in the E20 initiative by incorporating technologies and vehicles that meet fuel standards with Tata Motors on Saturday unveiling a range of Bharat Stage 6 Phase II passenger vehicles that have E20-compatible engines. The engines are available in all models including Altroz, Punch, Nexon, Tiago and Tigor and also meet the second phase of BS6 emission norms which will come into effect from April 1, 2023. The new Hyundai Motor India’s Grand i10 NIOS car also offers three fuel-ready E20 engine options. The company has also updated its CRETA mid-size SUV with the petrol engine version now compatible with E20. Basically, this means that the SUV can now run on 20% ethanol blended fuel.
Like Brazil, where flex-fuel (E100)*1 motorcycle models are already available, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India plans to introduce flex-fuel E20 models from 2023 and flex-fuel E100 models in 2025. According to Vinod Aggarwal, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Managing Director and Managing Director, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, the industry is now aligned to launch vehicles compatible with E20 materials and the production of E20-tuned vehicles . The auto industry body tasked with promoting ethanol as a transport fuel will promote higher ethanol blends in the Indian petrol blend and look at its impact on the automotive industry. ‘car under an agreement with the United States Grains Council.
The target of 20 percent ethanol in gasoline would also benefit the country’s agricultural industry, as India’s ethanol blending program includes procurement of ethanol produced directly from B molasses -heavy, sugarcane juice and damaged cereals. The country’s current ethanol production capacity for ethanol blending with gasoline and other uses is about 947 million liters (includes 619 million liters of molasses-based production capacity and 328 million liters of grain-based production capacity). According to Tarun Sawhney, vice-president and managing director of Triveni Engineering and Industries, the impact this move will have on improving the agricultural income of sugarcane and cereal farmers is significant. According to Shishir Joshipura, Managing Director and CEO of Praj Industries, apart from strengthening farmers’ incomes by providing an additional income stream through the sale of biomass, it will create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in rural communities. As a result of the government’s focus on ethanol, there has been a payment of around Rs 81.8 billion for ethanol supply from 2014 to 2022 and a transfer of over Rs 49 billion to farmers.
