Supply chain infrastructure may pose a challenge for 20% ethanol blending goal: Industry
India: Achieving 15% ethanol blending in petrol for the first time in May, India’s target is 20% by 2025. Experts highlight that infrastructure for ethanol storage is a roadblock. Gaurav Kedia, Chairman of the Indian Biogas Association, stresses the need for enhanced storage capacity. Ethanol surplus issues are being addressed, with government plans for ethanol terminals and depots. TruAlt Bioenergy MD Vijay Nirani notes the rapid growth in the ethanol sector.
With India achieving 15 percent ethanol blending in petrol for the first time recently, industry players and experts point out that supply chain infrastructure for ethanol storage may be a roadblock to achieve higher blending targets.
According to the oil ministry data, India reached blending of ethanol in petrol to the extent of 15.4 percent in the month of May, compared to 12.7 percent in the previous month. The 15 percent ethanol blending holds importance as the government aims to reach 20 percent blending in petrol by 2025.
“We will need extra push to achieve the 20 percent target- especially on the infrastructure side. We already have the policy push. Infrastructure not only means logistics but also the storage of ethanol. We have limited storage and need to enhance the storage capacity. The buffer capacity needs to be taken care of. We have enough supply and demand (of ethanol); the work needs to be done at the infrastructure side to consume ethanol. The work is ongoing at OMCs,” said Gaurav Kedia, Chairman of the Indian Biogas Association.
Some ethanol producers had recently flagged concerns regarding surplus of ethanol due to limited offtake by the oil marketing companies (OMCs), highlighting mismatch in demand and supply in the market. Industry players, however, say that the ethanol surplus has now been taken care of and that the government is working towards improving storage infrastructure.
“The growth of the ethanol sector has been very rapid. On an average, the industry has grown almost 15-16 percent on an average year-on-year. In a growth like this, the infrastructure for storage and handling of ethanol is yet to be developed. The government is in discussion for creating ethanol terminals and depots. There is stress today for larger quantity of storage,” said Vijay Nirani, Managing Director of TruAlt Bioenergy.
TruAlt Bioenergy is an ethanol producer based out of Bengaluru with a capacity of 2 million litres per day.
