Latest news with #SATAT
Time of India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Ethanol taking centerstage in India's clean energy landscape amid growth in biofuels
New Delhi: Ethanol, the renewable fuel made from plant materials, is fast gaining prominence in India's clean energy sector with its increasing use in replacing fossil resources as part of a larger movement favouring biofuels . Consider the fact that the average Ethanol Blending Percentage achieved by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) reached 18.4 per cent at the end of March 2025, from 14.6 per cent in the previous year, inching closer to the national target of 20 per cent. "As far as use of biofuels in the transport sector is concerned, ethanol blending has been a great success and we are now touching 20 per cent of ethanol bending in gasoline. There are discussions on ethanol blending beyond 20 per cent. There are talks about using flex fuel vehicles which are also coming up. All the OEMs have been given a target to come out with flex fuel vehicles in this year. With that ethanol blending percentage will go higher," said Alok Sharma, Director (R&D) at Indian Oil Corp . The oil companies are also working on an Alcohol to Jet (ATJ) fuel plan. While these plants are in the initial stages they will also come up in the next 2-3 years as the blending percentage increases slowly. Thanks to the aviation boom and the upcoming CORSIA mandates oil firms are shifting focus to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) . IOC, for instance, is trying to use Used Cooking Oil (UCO) for making SAF, and the first plant is likely to be commissioned by October 2025 on Coprocessing route. IOC plans to produce at least up to 1-2 per cent of SAF blended ATF. "By 2030, there is a likely mandate that 5 per cent of aviation fuel will be SAF. We are also trying to modify some of the plants where we can use UCO in our refineries. There are dedicated plants also being thought of where we can use UCO without co-processing to produce neat SAF. So, Ethanol is definitely going to be a centerstage going forward in the form of ethanol blending in gasoline, ethanol blending in diesel, and it will also be used as feed for producing aviation fuel," Sharma said. Parallely, Indian Oil has set up its first plant for 2G Ethanol -- produced from agricultural residues and non-food crops -- at Panipat even as it faces a few issues in handling of the feed. It is running the plant at around 50 per cent capacity while the scale up-related issues are sorted. Other OMCs are also setting up at least three more plants. The companies see 2G ethanol too playing a critical role in boosting clean energy uptake as the issues surrounding feed supply chain, feed handling and the high price of 2G ethanol are addressed. Apart from Ethanol, the past few years have witnessed progress on bio-CNG front too, which is receiving push under the SATAT scheme. Indian Oil has already set up three CBG plants under SATAT and it has plans to set up around 30 plants this year. "The CBG programme has received a push also because of the CBG blending mandates -- 1 per cent by 2026, and increasing to 5 per cent by 2030. There are various schemes launched by the government on these initiatives including on Ethanol blending, biofuel policy, PM JI-VAN Yojana, Gobardhan etc. A lot of policies have been launched to push these fuels in the energy mix," Sharma said. Another key promising area in fuel research is bio-Hydrogen used in the transport industry. IOC is working in this direction. Apart from Hydrogen production from the electrolysis of water, work on biomass gasification as a pathway is gaining traction. Indian Oil is trying to produce green Hydrogen via this route jointly with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The OMC has already developed a process allowing 5 kg per hour of Green Hydrogen to be produced from biomass gasification and it plans to scale it up in one of its refineries. The company also sees potential in using CBG reforming as a Green Hydrogen pathway. Overall, the biofuel sector in India is grappling with five broad challenges including skills, standards, segregation of waste, scale up and supply chain but Sharma believes there are many opportunities too in areas like 2G Ethanol, WTE, and non-food crops. India is aiming to become Net Zero by 2070, and in the Oil & Gas sector most of the companies have already announced their Net Zero targets. For example, IOC has plans to achieve operational Net Zero by 2046. Sharma believes in order to achieve the Net Zero goal, action is required on key areas like energy efficien cy, renewable energy including biofuels, Green Hydrogen, and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The focus on biofuels must be ramped up specifically in view of their critical role in the decarbonisation of the automobile sector too.
Business Standard
7 days ago
- Science
- Business Standard
Organic Recycling Systems launches SEED/Culture Based Pilot Biomethanation Plant
In collaboration with Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy Organic Recycling Systems in collaboration with the Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has officially launched a pilot scale SEED/Culture-based biomethanation plant at the Solapur Bioenergy Systems (SBESPL) facility. The initiative represents a landmark advancement in India's pursuit of sustainable and decentralized bioenergy solutions. Designed to validate the THERMI-NIBE microbial consortium, the pilot plant will test the anaerobic digestion of diverse lignocellulosic and organic feedstocks such as Napier grass, agricultural residues, and food/agro-industrial waste, paving the way for scalable Compressed Biogas (CBG) production aligned with the Government of India's SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) initiative.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Existing government initiatives must be integrated to boost biogas sector: IBA
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Indian Biogas Association IBA ) on Thursday proposed integrating government initiatives like Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), GOBARDhan, and CBG (compressed biogas) blending into a unified national mission to boost the biogas sector. This suggestion was made in a white paper launched by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari , which also recommended centralised tracking, standardised benchmarking, and integrated funding to scale up biogas deployment in recommendations included mandating phased CBG blending across sectors, creating a green certificate ecosystem and accelerating decentralised biogas infrastructure development. Additional proposals included incentivising waste segregation and feedstock supply chains, improving rural energy access with clean cooking fuel, bridging the skill gap through workforce programs and empowering women through biogas it called for promoting biogas as a primary cooking fuel in rural India by introducing targeted subsidies, encouraging the use of LPG-biogas hybrid stoves, and aligning efforts with the Ujjwala Yojana and City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks.'Approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste lacks proper scientific treatment and goes underutilized annually, while over 80% of rural households still depend on biomass fuels. Meanwhile, India imports over 85% of its crude oil, exposing the economy to global price volatility and straining foreign reserves. Unifying all three missions under one, will bring in synergies and better management and utilization of existing resources," IBA Chairman Gaurav Kedia said in the emphasised that Indian agriculture needs to become economically viable to make the country self-reliant (Atmanirbhar).The Union Minister highlighted examples of ethanol production from crops like corn, bamboo, and broken rice, which have increased farmers' incomes. For instance, corn prices rose from Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,600 per quintal after its use in ethanol production began, demonstrating the potential for economic growth through viable noted that developing a strong biofuel market will help reduce India's demand for fossil fuels. "If we want to reduce pollution, then green fuel is very important for sustainable development," he imports over 85% of its crude oil, making the economy vulnerable to global price fluctuations and putting pressure on foreign exchange India's fossil fuel import bill declined 16% to $132.4 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year compared to the previous year, even with a slight increase in crude oil imports. The fossil fuels still account for a significant portion of India's energy consumption. In fact, fossil fuel consumption in India rose 8% in 2023, making up 89% of the country's overall energy consumption.
Mint
08-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
India needs to integrate existing govt initiatives related to biogas sector: IBA
New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) India needs to integrate existing government initiatives related to the biogas sector, Indian Biogas Association said on Thursday. In a white paper launched by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Indian Biogas Association (IBA) advocated for the unification of existing government initiatives - Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), GOBARDhan, and CBG (compressed biogas) blending - under a single national mission, according to a statement. The IBA released the white paper during the 4th BBB Summit organised in the national capital on Thursday, the association said in the statement. Further, the white paper suggested the need for centralised tracking, standardised performance benchmarking, and integrated funding mechanisms to drive rapid and large-scale deployment of biogas solutions in India. The key recommendations included mandating phase-wise CBG blending across sectors, formulating a green certificate ecosystem, and fast-tracking decentralised biogas Infrastructure. It also proposed the incorporation of incentivising waste segregation and feedstock supply chains, strengthening rural energy access with clean cooking fuel, bridging the skill gap through dedicated workforce programmes and empowering women through biogas micro-enterprises. The integration of biogas into public transport systems and smart building infrastructure will boost the sector, it said. Additionally, it called for promoting biogas as a primary cooking fuel in rural India by introducing targeted subsidies, encouraging the use of LPG-biogas hybrid stoves, and aligning efforts with the Ujjwala Yojana and City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks. "Approximately 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste lack proper scientific treatment and go under-utilised annually, while over 80 per cent of rural households still depend on biomass fuels," IBA Chairman Gaurav Kedia said in the statement. Meanwhile, he stated that India imports over 85 per cent of its crude oil, exposing the economy to global price volatility and straining foreign reserves. IBA organised the summit in partnership with Reveille Energy and Indus Exposium. "By harnessing the untapped power of decentralised biogas systems, India can redefine energy equity, empower rural and urban communities alike, and build a circular economy that is regenerative by design," Rohit Dev, Advisor at IBA and MD at Reveille Energy, said. "This white paper presents a pragmatic, multi-stakeholder roadmap to unlock this potential. But policies alone are not enough, and what India needs now is conviction, coordination, and collective action," Dev added.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Compressed Biogas: A game changer in India's energy transition
India's successful energy transition hinges on the ability to diversify the energy mix. More importantly progressive energy transition depends on the indigenous economically viable clean energy solutions available to large sections of users. Often, the promising and emerging domestic clean energy solutions struggle to make meaningful impact due to other competing clean energy options. Some of the extremely promising clean energy solutions get policy backing but fail to convert intentions into groundbreaking actions. Occasionally such options remain at the epicentre of media coverage and policy briefing. For instance, the National Biofuel Policy highlighted the increasing role of compressed biogas (CBG) to strengthen indigenous bioenergy generation, distribution, and consumption. Considering the critical role of CBG in reducing India's energy import dependency, especially imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the government launched Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT). As per SATAT website, SATAT scheme received 2227 active letters of intent (LOI). Under SATAT, 94 CBG plants sold 31422 tons of CBG in 2024-25, with an average sales of 334.26 tons per annum per plant, which means average sales of 0.91 ton per day (tpd). Government continues to enhance adoption of CBG by creating the enabling ecosystem for CBG production, transmission, and consumption. To facilitate CBG business, the government introduced a scheme for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery , with a financial outlay of ₹564.75 crore (FY 2023-24 to FY 2026-27). Under this scheme, the government can grant financial assistance of ₹1.8-9.0 crore to a project with plant capacity of 4tpd. Also, the government allocated ₹994.50 crore (FY 2024-25 to FY 2025-26) to create pipeline infrastructure to inject biogas produced from CBG plants into the City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks. The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to 100 CBG plants, 50 each in FY 2024-25 to FY 2025-26. As per this scheme, the minimum plant capacity should be 2 ptd. To encourage installation of large scale CBG plants, the scheme gives preference to plant capacity above 5 tpd. This scheme offers a maximum financial assistance of ₹28.75 crore per project for constructing pipelines (Steel/MDPE) up to 75 km. In addition, the CBG-CGD synchronisation scheme facilitates higher penetration of CBG through obligatory blending in compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG). To ensure greater integration of CBG into the gas grid, the government targets to achieve CBG blending obligation (CBO) of 1 per cent by financial year 2025-26. Gradually CBO to reach 5 per cent by FY 2028-29 and subsequently upto 10 per cent . The CBO mandates obligations on the part of CGD entities to ensure adequate off-take of CBG. GAIL (India) Limited - the nodal organization for the CBG-CGD synchronisation will continue to play a major role in improving CBG penetration in the market. Further, the CBG due to its green origin is eligible for green certification for trading purposes. These provisions create a supporting environment for greater integration of CBG into the economy. Despite government support for promoting CBG, the CBG industry continues to face financial bottlenecks. To improve better access to funds from the scheduled commercial banks, Reserve Bank of India places CBG under priority lending sector. Government has directed banks to facilitate loans for the SATAT and other CBG linked schemes. Initially SATAT targeted 5000 CBG plants across the country. Considering the market scenario, setting up 1000-1200 large size CBG plants by 2030 could be more realistic. Assuming ₹65 crore average investment per plant, the CBG industry will require deploy ₹58,500-₹71,500 crore for setting up additional 900-1100 large size CBG plants by 2030. The CBG industry can offer 15000-17000 direct jobs for plant operations & maintenance and 45,000-50,000 indirect jobs in the CBG value chain. For the CBG market development the PSUs like Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Oil India Limited, ONGC, and GAIL (India) Limited are stepping up investment. Increasing investment from the private sector will complement the public investment and boost market growth. In the CBG value chain farmers play an important role in supplying the raw material for CBG plants. Educating the farmers about the potential benefits of waste-to-energy can help better implementation of government schemes. The CBG industry can help the income enhancement of millions of farmers through valorization of agri-waste material. New CBG plant commissioning requires improved market dynamics which include better affordable technologies, easy financing, efficient supply chain, support of states and access to trained manpower. Technology development for feedstock optimization and efficient utilisation of CO2 from the CBG plants is very important for higher productivity. Cost effective and indigenous technology can improve the efficiency of CBG plants. Further, for waste based CBG plants, affordable technology for waste segregation and processing can help setting up more plants in urban areas. (The author is Professor, Department of of Management Studies Rajiv Gandhi of Petroleum Technology, Jais)
