Aligned with the vision of fostering sustainable mobility, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) organized a Virtual Seminar on ‘Promotion of Biofuels: A Pathway for Low Carbon Mobility’ to commemorate World Biofuel Day 2022. The seminar aimed to disseminate knowledge, experience, and learning on biofuels ecosystem, especially Ethanol. The conference deliberated various aspects of ethanol production and use including shared industry best practices and understanding of the concept of ‘Decarbonization’ of the automotive sector. The discourse during the conference also provided a glimpse of upcoming policies, regulatory and legislative frameworks on Biofuels.
The Ministerial Plenary Session was graced by recorded message delivered by Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt of India, and Mr. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt of India.
Emphasizing the need for alternate fuel and appreciating the efforts of SIAM, Mr. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt of India, who joined as Chief Guest at the Ministerial Plenary Session said, “We are looking at producing 10-12 billion litres 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. The automobile sector is one sector in India that is way ahead of Government policy deadlines.”
At the session, SIAM report on Microbial in-situ crop residue management in Punjab, by SIAM was also unveiled by Mr. Jain, the report is focussing on curbing the stubble burning.
Assuring a positive outcome from the session, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt of India, said, “The key takeaways from today’s event will act as a roadmap for the transition to biofuels. 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. Subsequently, the roadmap for ethanol blending has detailed pathways for achieving 20% blending by 2025. The result of our 10% blending is that we made foreign exchange savings of Rs 41,500 crore, timely payment of Rs 40,600 crores to farmers and reduction of 27lakh tons of CO2 emissions”
Mr. Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Govt of India, the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session said, “In the last four decades, the Indian Auto Industry has been successful with indigenization of most products. The Industry is at its tipping point with opportunities in entrepreneurship, market growth & emission norms. The auto industry also achieved 10% ethanol blending on a PAN India basis. We have a growing economy, and as the economy grows more, and more people use private transport, and two-wheeler consumers will shift to four-wheelers. This means the fuel consumption is also going to increase eventually, increasing the volume of emissions. Here, a strong case for renewable energy emerges. India has already achieved the target way before the deadline.”
Talking on the “Imperatives of Biofuels in India: Opportunities and Challenges”, Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director, IOCL, presented his views on the opportunities and challenges involved with the usage of alternate fuels.
Mr. Rajender Petkar, Co-Chairman, SIAM Sustainable Mobility Group and President & CTO Tata Motors Ltd, Mr. K N Radhakrishnan, Chairman SIAM Two Wheeler CEOs Council and Director & CEO, TVS Motor Company, and Mr. Satyakam Arya, CEO & Managing Director, Daimler India Commercial Vehicle also emphasized on the usage of alternate fuel and ethanol blending in their remarks.
The virtual conference was divided into two sessions i.e. “Technical Session-1: Ethanol Road Map: Challenges & Way forward” and “Technical Session-2: Bio-diesel and Compressed Bio-gas progression as Transportation Fuel”. The conference witnessed active participation from several respected speakers including senior Government officials, CEOs of automobile companies, and experts from the automobile, biofuel, and environment sectors.
Session – 1 on “Ethanol Road Map: Challenges & Way forward” began with an address by Mr. Amit Mehta, Joint Secretary, and Department of Heavy Industry. He commented, “In the backdrop of global climate crisis and trade issues, Self-reliance has become one of the most important factors today. Further, Ethanol blended petrol has enormous potential as fuel in the transport sector, as decarbonization is one of the major initiatives of the government. Its successful implementation can save up to Rs 30,000 crore per annum. As mobility needs are increasing, their subsequent impacts are also intensifying. Therefore, the Government and the industry stakeholders should all join hands to take the ethanol roadmap forward.”
Mr. Ashim Sharma, Sr. Partner, and Group Head, NRI, gave a thematic presentation on “Ethanol Road Map: Challenge & Way Forward”. The presentation provided insights into the present and future scenarios on the usage of alternate fuels.
The panel witnessed eminent panelist Mr. Eduardo Leao De Souza, ED, UNICA, Mr. Samir S Somaiya, Past President, ISMA and CMD, Godavari Biorefineries, Mr. P S Ravi, ED, BPCL, Mr. Sridhar Goud, ED, HPCL, Mr. Vikram Kasbekar, Executive Director, Hero MotoCorp and Mr. Sudeep Dalvi, Sr. VP and Director, TKML.
The Session – 2 was themed on “Bio-diesel and Compressed Bio-gas progression as Transportation Fuel”. The session began with an address by Mr. Sunil Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, who said, “It is indeed a very proud day for all Indians as our Hon’ble PM inaugurated the 2nd generation ethanol plant at Panipat. India will join the list of select countries having these types of facilities and that too, with our indigenous technology. Energy security and environmental concerns are the two primary reasons driving the biofuel program globally. In India, the biofuel program is also a tool for rural development and local employment. Biofuel day is like a pit stop for all of us to stop and look back to the year and see what we have done and how much progress we have made.”
Mr. Shantanu Gupta, Executive Director, IOCL, gave a themed presentation on “CBG Program (SATAT) in India” and Mr. Chris Bliley, Sr. Vice President, Growth Energy, USA, gave a themed presentation on “Global trends of Renewable fuels in Transportation”.
The Session witnessed eminent panelists, Mr. Shantanu Gupta, ED, IOCL, Mr. Chris Bliley, Sr. VP, Growth Energy, Dr. Anjan Ray, Director, IIP, Mr. Shailesh Zinge, Director, Cummins Ltd, and Mr. Ravindra KU, Bosch India, also took place. The session was moderated by Mr. Som Kapoor, Partner, E&Y.
Concluding the day, Mr. Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM, said, “Today distinguished experts from the energy domain provided the much-needed insight into ‘Biofuel Roadmap 2030 for India’. This will play a huge role in facilitating the implementation of Biofuel pathways announced by the Government. This will also help in achieving sustainable development goals in the country by 2030. Alternative fuels will drive India towards a sustainable future”
Over the years, SIAM has been engaging with governments, corporates, and stakeholders in an effort to address sustainability issues, aligning with SIAM’s objective of Building the Nation Responsibly.
