Indian Oil & Praj to form JV for biofuels production capacities in India
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Praj Industries Limited (Praj) on Thursday have signed a term sheet to increase biofuel manufacturing capabilities in India.
According to the press release, among the several biofuels covered under this memorandum of understanding (MoU) are biodiesel, compressed biogas, ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and bio-bitumen.
Both businesses had agreed to create a 50/50 joint venture for this purpose in an agreement that was signed in October 2021.
Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil, said, "The collaboration with an Indian biofuel major - Praj, is a remarkable milestone in Indian Oil’s green energy transition journey. It will strengthen our resolve to achieve our goal of net-zero operational emissions by 2046 and maintain our leadership in the green energy domain.”
Mr Vaidya also added that India being an agrarian economy, offers the advantage of sufficient availability of feedstock. The indigenous biofuels will be a game changer in helping India chart its decarbonization journey. Biofuels offer a win-win situation by reducing dependence on crude imports, boosting the rural economy, and offering sustainable, cleaner mobility options.
Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, Founder Chairman, Praj Industries said, "We are proud of our partnership with Indian Oil, which is further reinforced with this important milestone. Biofuels positively impact the socio-economic and environmental aspects thereby facilitating sustainable development. Readying India to build sustainable aviation fuels production capacity in pursuit of clean skies is our priority, to strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
According to the press release, India intends to include biofuels in the mix of transportation fuels as part of its effort to achieve energy independence by using domestic resources. Indian Oil and Praj have already worked together to support India's energy transition to a more environmentally friendly future.
Based on Praj's unique 2G technology, Indian Oil's Panipat complex has the country's first sophisticated biofuel refinery of its sort.
Source: Media reports