Toyota Kirloskar Motor displays electric flex-fuel vehicles at India Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference 2023
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is participating at the maiden edition of the ‘The India Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference, 2023’ being held in New Delhi between September 21-22. The event is jointly organised by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the International Sugar Organisation (ISO), and the Government of India.
At the event Toyota Kirloskar Motor showcased its Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicles (display of two models), as it emphasises the significance of biofuels towards ensuring a disruption-free energy transition away from fossil fuel consumption, thereby also achieving carbon neutrality.
The event witnessed participation from over 500 people, including various government representatives, industry experts, sugar mill owners, academia, industry bodies, media, and other dignitaries. Further to elaborate, over the two days, the conference will witness the participation of eminent global and India thought leaders sharing their specialised knowledge on the robust sugar economy and its trades globally, and innovative technologies for inclusive growth in the bio-fuels sector, further facilitating the idea sharing and future approaches of sugar and bio-energy industry. Early this year (in Feb 2023), TKM had exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding with ISMA to popularise the use of ethanol being a clean, indigenous, renewable, and sustainable energy source, for the automotive industry in India.
It is estimated that post-2025, India will have surplus ethanol well beyond the requirement for E20 regime. To fully realise the available potential and to maximise the social benefits, Flex Fuel Vehicle technologies i.e., vehicles that can use higher blends of ethanol beyond 20 percent mix (E20), will be required. However, the challenge with Flex Fuel Vehicles is lower fuel efficiency due to the lower energy density of Ethanol. This challenge can be overcome with the use of the electric powertrain in combination with the flex fuel engine to obtain enhanced fuel efficiency. As such, Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicles provides the twin benefit of higher fuel substitution (with ethanol) as well as good fuel efficiency, due to high ratio of electric mode driving.
Aditya Jhunjhunwala, President, Indian Sugar Mills Association said, “Through these milestone initiatives, we aim to create greater awareness, understanding and collaboration on the importance of biofuels and their benefits, amongst consumers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders, etc. ISMA, collectively, is extremely thankful to the government for announcing the global biofuel alliance and we will make every effort to contribute towards making this a big success, further gain from the learnings through such international collaboration.”
Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive VP, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Toyota will continue its relentless efforts in contributing to future innovations by promoting sustainable technological advancements in the green mobility space. Toyota believes that ‘carbon is the real enemy’, and hence continues to offer wider choices to customers with various vehicle powertrain technologies, including Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle. Given the Indian context, we foresee a huge potential for ethanol as it is an Indigenous and clean energy source, that can significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”
