The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex body representing automakers in the country, concluded the 3rd International Conference on World Biofuel Day 2024 themed The Biofuel Revolution in India: Fueling Tomorrow. 

The event brought together global and national experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the critical role of biofuels in India's sustainable energy transition and the broader implications for the Indian automotive industry.

The conference commenced with the inaugural session titled Catalysing the Indian Biofuel Story for the Global Arena, moderated by Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM. He said," There are three C’s collaboration, communication, competency that defines India’s biofuel journey. India has embraced E20 economy, and its collaborative efforts is manifested by strong cooperation that the sector is receiving from the global partners. "

The Chief Guest Kenneth Félix Haczynski da Nóbrega, Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil stated,” Driven by our shared vision for a sustainable future, Brazil’s ethanol expertise and India’s progress in decarbonisation align with our goal of 20-25 percent biofuel use. The Collaboration between India and Brazil sets a global example in the energy transition, emphasising inclusivity and cost-effective bioenergy solutions. Major investments and technology transfers between our nations will be key to advancing sustainable mobility and achieving long-term climate goals."

Rohit Mathur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India said," Today’s success is the result of the collective efforts of multiple ministries under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are poised to see significant progress in the next five years as we advance biofuels and fully utilise domestic resources. The ethanol program is benefiting farmers, saving foreign exchange, and transforming the ecosystem. We urge investment in advanced biofuels to further boost ethanol production and emphasise the need for a mass awareness campaign to educate the public on flex-fuel and ethanol percentages."

K C Sharma, Chief Engineer (MVL) at the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India said, "Achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 is a national commitment with biofuels being crucial to this goal. We have increased ethanol blending from 1.4 percent in 2013-14 to nearly 20 percent today, thanks to the collaborative efforts of fuel providers, vehicle manufacturers, and component suppliers. We are advancing towards testing new bio-ethanol solutions with prototypes already on Indian roads."

Vikram S Kasbekar, Executive Director of Hero MotoCorp and SIAM Executive Committee Member in his keynote address said, “The industry will be ready soon to rollout the flex fuel vehicles but their off-take is important. The energy content in ethanol is less than that of petrol. We have to consider what value the customer will get in adopting to ethanol and ensure that the customers benefit.”

Dr. Reji Mathai, Director of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) said, "Marking a significant milestone in our commitment to advancing biofuel integration and reducing emissions, India is able to achieve E20 compliance with BS VI standards".

Sujoy Choudhury, Director at Indian Oil Corporation stated,” India needs to ensure the biofuel growth is equitable and sustainable. Oil manufacturing companies have increased their tankage by ten-fold to support the biofuel journey. Today, Ethanol moves through various modes of transport including pipelines, railways, and roadways.”

Mandava Prabhakar Rao, President of the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said," Sugarcane is the most efficient crop in terms of water and land utilisation. Currently, only 15 percent of sugarcane is converted to ethanol, but increasing this by 10 percent only would allow the Indian sugarcane industry to meet 55 percent of the country’s ethanol demand”.

The conference also featured the release of the Context Paper on Biofuels in India: Current Scenario and the Road Ahead.

Rajesh Menon, Director General of SIAM in his closing remark said, "The inaugural session has highlighted India’s significant achievements in the biofuel sector and brought attention to the need for collaborative efforts for future advancements in biofuel. We must build on this foundation and drive the mobility sector towards a sustainable and impactful future".

Ashim Sharma, Senior Partner from Nomura Research Institute moderated a session on ‘Biofuel Demand and Supply Management: Bridging the Gap.’

A report was released at the event on “Sukh Da Saah – SIAM Initiative on Crop Residue Management.” Alok Sharma, Director (R&D) of Indian Oil Corporation discussed advancements in biofuel R&D; Anurag Saraogi, Chief General Manager, Bharat Petroleum Corporation presented critical operational strategies for developing storage capacity and dispensing of the fuel; Rajagopal Manohar, Head of Technical Service and Innovation, Novonesis, spoke on technological innovations beyond development of ethanol biofuel;  Ashok Singh, Assistant Vice-President, Regreen-Excel EPC focused on technologies for supply chain optimization; and Amit Agrawal, Senior Vice-President, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar detailed the sugar industry’s role in biofuel production.

Som Kapoor, Future of Mobility Leader, EY Parthenon moderated the Thematic Session 2 titled ‘Preparing the Auto Industry for a Flex Fuel Future,’ focusing on assessing the sector's preparedness for flexible fuel vehicles, which included insightful presentations from panelists. Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Executive Vice President (Corporate Affairs & Governance), Toyota Kirloskar Motor shared strategies for development of hybrid flex vehicles in the country, while Sameer Sinha, CEO, Triveni Engineering & Industries addressed engineering challenges related to production of ethanol. 

Shweta Saini, Founder & CEO, Arcus Policy Research discussed the regulatory landscape on ethanol production and feedstock cultivation, and Krishnan Sadagopan, Senior Vice-President, Ashok Leyland & Board of Director IOCL, and Harjeet Singh, Executive Adviser (Tech), Hero MotoCorp and Presentation by Prof. K A Subramanian, Head of Department, Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Delhi spoke on technical readiness of the OEMs to launch flex fuel vehicles in the country.

Thematic Session 3, ‘Building a Resilient Ecosystem for the Adoption of Biofuels,’ focused on the critical steps needed to support biofuel ecosystem development in India. Moderated by Raman Jha, Executive Director at PwC, the session featured key insights from industry leaders. Y. B. Ramakrishna, Member – Working Group on Biofuels at MoPNG discussed necessary policy frameworks introduced by the government for development of ethanol value chain, while Rafik Mankad, CMD, Biotexus Energy and R Ramaprabhu, Head of Fluid Technology, Mahindra & Mahindra talked about role of industry in adoption of higher blends of biofuels. Contributions from Sqn Ldr Ankur Naik Director, Punjab Renewable Energy Systems; Ashish Kumar, Managing Director, Verbio India and Rajneesh Agarwal, Secretary General, UP Distillers Association (UPDA) emphasised the need to adopt renewable energy solutions, develop robust and scalable ethanol supply chain for fulfilment of decarbonisation goals. 

The session wrapped up with a call for stronger collaboration and technological innovation among the industry stakeholders from Dr. Prabhakar Thakur, HoD (Hydrocarbon Efficiency & New Energy), Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Govt. of India and Dr. S. D. Singh, Senior Advisor, Biodiesel Association of India.