The sugar industry has set itself a goal of diverting 100 lakh tonnes of sugar for achieving the production of 1000 crore litres of ethanol by 2025. This would require higher ethanol production capacity
For the first time ever, there will be an exclusive Ethanol Pavilion at the Auto Expo 2023. The Auto Expo begins from January 13, 2023, at Auto Expo Mart, Greater Noida. There is a total of 8 participants at the Ethanol pavilion- Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Unica Brazil, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Praj Industries, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and US Grain.
ISMA is taking part at the Auto Expo and will have its own ethanol stall. The theme of the stall is ‘We provide the solution’. The stall promises to create awareness amongst auto enthusiasts and people at large that ‘Ethanol Biofuel is Powering India’.
According to ISMA, ethanol-blended petrol is an alternative to fossil fuel. The oxygen in ethanol makes it the best “oxygenate” in the world, which helps petrol “burn” more efficiently within the vehicle engine. This reduces vehicular emissions, thereby directly improving air quality wherever such ethanol-blended petrol is used.
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On June 5, 2021, on the occasion of World Environment Day, the Government of India advanced the ethanol blending target of 20 per cent to 2025 from 2030. “There is a huge requirement for ethanol as we move ahead to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in the country. The overall ethanol production capacity in the country has touched about 697 crore litres,” ISMA said.
As per the estimates of Niti Aayog, in order to achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in the country by 2025-26, about 1016 crore litres of ethanol would be required. The sugar industry has set itself a goal of diverting 100 lakh tonnes of sugar for achieving production of 1000 crore litres. However, this would require higher ethanol production capacity, more distilleries and conducive government policies to boost sugarcane and sugar production in the country.
However, environmentalists, conservationists and propagators for sustainable agricultural practices, strongly oppose increasing the production of water-guzzling crops like sugarcane. According to experts, producing one kilogram of sugar consumes over 3,000 litres of water in the field.