The finite nature of fossil fuel has paved the path for greener alternatives like Ethanol. Although its raw material includes sugarcane or maize but India highly depends on sugarcane molasses. Ethanol has industry-wide usage in various forms but in this blog, we will talk about how India is banking on this biofuel to secure its energy future.

Why do we need ethanol?

Like every other nation out there, India also depends on fossil fuels to fulfil its need for energy. We depend on foreign countries for crude oil, especially the Middle East countries. Only then we are able to cater to the common masses’ needs. We are in dire need of alternatives to gratify the rising demand of a huge population. And ethanol plant manufacturers in India are on the right path to ensure demand meets supply. The traditional fuels anyway leave a drastic impact on the environment, leading to more greenhouse gas emissions. If the GOI is able to procure ethanol and shift the demand from foreign countries to domestic manufacturers, it will also cut down our foreign currency outflow and make us more self-sufficient.

Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme

The Government of India saw the potential in converting food-based crops into energy emanating alternatives. Hence it launched this programme back in the year 2003. It was introduced to reduce our import dependency and bring down our carbon footprint. The National Policy on Biofuels that was set in motion in 2018 aims to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by the end of 2025. Such blending targets are taking place in various phases, all moving towards E20, a higher blend of ethanol and petrol. There are also financial incentives and support mechanisms in place to motivate high quality ethanol manufacturers to expand the horizon of their production.

How has it been so far?

Between 2023-24, the percentage of blended ethanol crossed the mark of 13%. This ethanol blending percentage was 1.53% in the year 2014 which has skyrocketed to an enormous figure of 15% today. It is speedy progress which is quite promising as we want to achieve a blending of 20% by the end of next year. This has motivated the automobile industry to come up with ethanol-compatible vehicle engines.

Conclusion

We cannot deny the fact that initiatives like EBP have further pushed us to adopt ethanol to a great extent. It is a step towards a sustainable and secure future where self-reliance is imminent. But overall, there is this constant need to encourage ethanol plant manufacturers in India to keep up with the ground-breaking work.