Kolkata: have you heard of ethanol ATMs? If you haven’t, you must know the government’s blueprint with ethanol, which is not limited to blending with petrol.
Having achieved the nationwide E20 target, the government is now exploring new uses for ethanol. Work is rapidly progressing in new areas such as kitchen fuel, ethanol ATMs, SAF, flex-fuel vehicles, and export. The aim is to better utilise the country’s rapidly expanding ethanol production capacity and further strengthen the biofuel ecosystem. An ethanol ATM could take the shape of an automated dispensing machine from which one can buy biofuel canisters for household cooking stoves. One can view it as similar to a water ATM.
New challenge after E20
India’s ethanol blending program has achieved remarkable success over the past decade. Ethanol blending in petrol has increased from approximately 1.5% to over 20%. This has reduced dependence on crude oil imports, increased farmer incomes and strengthened the domestic biofuel industry. According to the government, ethanol blending has saved the country more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore in foreign exchange since 2014-15.
In response to this policy, sugar mills and grain-based distilleries invested heavily. New distilleries have been established in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. However, this success has now become a new challenge, as production capacity has outpaced current demand.
Production capacity exceeds demand
A report by CareAge Ratings reveals that India’s ethanol production capacity has exceeded 20 billion liters annually. About 4 billion liters of additional capacity is expected to be commissioned which will take the total capacity to approximately 24 billion liters.
In comparison, the E20 program requires approximately 11 billion liters of ethanol annually. The combined demand from the liquor, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries is approximately 3 to 3.5 billion liters. This means that approximately 7 billion liters of production capacity is currently underutilised. This is why the government is rapidly working on new uses.
Ethanol to reach kitchens
According to a report by The Economic Times, the government is also considering the possibility of using ethanol as a domestic cooking fuel. This includes developing an ethanol ATM model, where consumers can fill special canisters with ethanol and use them in special stoves. This could help reduce dependence on LPG and reduce import bills.
The government believes that ethanol, produced domestically, benefits farmers and strengthens the rural economy. Therefore, it is exploring the possibility of developing it as an alternative cooking fuel.
Export, aviation also big markets
Along with increasing domestic demand, India is also focusing on ethanol exports. Potential for ethanol supply is being explored in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. These countries have blending targets, but domestic production is limited. Furthermore, the aviation sector could also become a major opportunity for the ethanol industry. The government has prepared a roadmap to promote the use of SAF or Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Under this, the target is to achieve 1% SAF blending on international flights by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030. SAF can be produced using ethanol-based alcohol-to-jet technology. To this end, NTPC Green Energy and GPS Renewables are developing the country’s first ethanol-to-jet fuel plant near Visakhapatnam.
