India strives for alternative bioenergy resources

ICIS.com
18 June 2008 02:43 [Source: ICIS news]

SAN DIEGO (ICIS news) -- India is pushing forward with a massive shift from a fossil-fuel driven economy to an alternative energy-driven economy using biotechnology, Indian government and industry officials said on Tuesday.

“Alternative energy is a dire imperative for us, and it is cost, not green technology, that is the driver,” said K V Subramaniam, president and CEO of Reliance Life Sciences, a major biofuels player in India said at the 2008 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention in San Diego, USA.

Energy demand in India is approximately 315 MTOE (million tonne oil equivalent) and is projected to grow 8 times that much to the year 2030. The economy is essentially based on diesel fuel, 75% of which is imported.

“We must increase the proportion of blended-in ethanol. We have already achieved a 5% blending, and we intend to achieve a 10% blending,” said N S Samant, joint secretary of India’s Department of Biotechnology.

India’s bioethanol is mainly derived from molasses from the sugarcane plant, whose crop yield the agricultural sector is looking to increase. Authorities are also looking at increasing the production of biodiesel from the Jatropha plant and other sources.

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