Roadmap for ethanol blending beyond 20% necessary to address concerns about existing investments, overcapacity: ISMA Chief

It is essential to provide a roadmap for ethanol blending beyond the present 20% to address existing concerns about unutilised capacities and investments already made in the realm, Director-General at Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) Deepak Ballani told The Hindu in an interaction Tuesday.

He explained the sugar industry invested more than ₹40,000 crore to build a capacity of 900 crore litres of ethanol. Elaborating on the existing concerns, he stated, “The share of sugar-based feedstocks in ethanol have declined from an erstwhile 90% to 28% at present.”

“We have the capacity today (for blending beyond 20%). However, since my capacity is not being utilised, the investment [already made] is going down the drain that also limits my capacity to pay farmers on time,” he stated.

The Director-General said ISMA has suggested the government look to increase the blending from the present 20%, to 22% and thereafter 25% in a “phased manner”. In addition to this, he stated the government also consider drawing a policy roadmap for car makers to manufacture ‘flexi-fuel’ and strong hybrid variant of vehicles, which can take 100% of ethanol, in India.

“EV is not the only answer [to decarbonisation], we have to be pathway-agnostic,” he said.

‘Feedstock for SAF not an issue, but need clarity policy-wise’

Responding to a query about the industry’s capability of being able to provide for enhanced targets for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in future and potential for export, the ISMA chief emphasised that feedstock is not an issue but reiterated the need for clarity on the policy front. This entails, according to him, a guarantee on offtake and the administered price mechanism. “That is, how much, by when and what is the price at which you will procure,” he explained.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu had stated November 6 that the government would “soon” release a national policy on sustainable aviation fuel. At present, India is targeting a 1% SAF blend by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030 for international flights in line with compliance to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

Elaborating on the inherent advantage for India in the realm, Mr. Ballani pointed to SAF being an “international mandate and not a country-specific mandate”. He stated India has surplus sugar, more importantly, the country’s sugarcane has the “lowest” carbon emission index in the world making which makes domestically produced SAF viable for international export as well.

Additionally, he mentioned, “Even after diverting for ethanol blending, we have enough surplus to divert for SAF at present,” he said.

(With inputs from Jagriti Chandra)