India phasing in 20% bioethanol blend

India will start a phased roll-out of 20% bioethanol-blended fuel by 1 April.
The proposed roll-out will give further impetus to the government’s plans of achieving 20% ethanol blending across the country by 2025-2026.
“We have increased ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53% in 2013-14 to 10.17% in June 2022, which was well ahead of the November 2022 deadline,” India’s petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
To achieve 20% ethanol blending by 2025, India requires a production capacity of around 14.5bn litres/year.
To speed up the country’s ethanol output, the government is providing various incentives to producers such as loans and faster clearance to new projects, Puri said, adding that India also plans to launch a global alliance on biofuels with the US and Brazil.
The Indian government was also studying a proposal to establish ethanol-blended fuel pumps across the country to ensure easy availability of the fuel by 2025, India’s road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said at the automobile exhibition.
The automobile industry has been pro-active in supporting the government’s vision of creating an ethanol economy, the SIAM said in a statement over the weekend.
The government has asked the group to promote ethanol as a transportation fuel and has asked car manufacturers to ensure that their engines are compliant to run on 20% ethanol-blended fuel (E20) by 2025.