New biodiesel association will expand biodiesel market in India

In India, the Biodiesel Manufacturers Association (BEMA) has been launched with a focus on expanding the nation's biodiesel market, decreasing air pollution and reducing its dependence on foreign oil.

The BEMA group is an eight-member association, the chairman and president of which has been named as Sanjeev Gupta, president of advanced renewable fuels and biochemicals company Aemetis International and chairman of the Universal Biofuels subsidiary of Aemetis.

The organisation will serve to further the interests of biodiesel manufacturers by removing regulatory hurdles while educating India corporate and retail consumers about the environmental and cost benefits of biodiesel.

Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis, says: 'Biodiesel is now a less expensive fuel than diesel in India, with the removal of the large diesel subsidy that had blocked sales of biodiesel in India until recently. The formation of BEMA is an important milestone expanding the biodiesel market in India to replace diesel with a healthier and lower cost alternative.'

'With the deregulation of the diesel market in India and ending of diesel subsidies last October, India is a new frontier for Aemetis to grow in a large 25 billion gallon diesel market,' Gupta adds. 'With the recent approval of direct sales to bulk customers, we have launched direct delivery of biodiesel to customers and are moving rapidly to expand production at our 50 million gallon per year capacity East Coast plant in Kakinada to supply the domestic India market.'