Almost 60% of India’s petrol for transport purposes to come from biofuels

59% of India’s petrol for transport purposes could come from biofuels by 2020, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance study titled “Next-generation Ethanol: What’s in it for India”. The new study was released on 17 May 2011 and commissioned by enzyme producer Novozymes.

India, the world’s sixth largest fuel guzzler, is under pressure to dramatically reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, as the Indian government has implemented an ambitious mandate that could see the nation source 20% of its energy from renewable fuels by 2017, under the Indian Biofuels Policy.

This requirement could also create jobs for up to one million people living in the country, according to the study. India currently utilises 17.3 billion litres of petrol a year but this is expected to rise by as much as 8.5% annually until 2050.

“By converting agricultural residues into fuel ethanol, India has the potential to reduce its dependence on imported petroleum,” says Thomas Nagy, executive vice president at Novozymes. “What’s more interesting is that this can be achieved without changing today’s agricultural land-use patterns or cultivating new energy crops. In addition, we already have the technology ready for deployment.”

Source

biofuels international, 2011-05-23.

Supplier

Novozymes

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