India has already achieved its 20% Ethanol blending target. It was recently that the government of India officially directed all oil marketing companies to sell only blended petrol with 20% Ethanol content and a minimum RON value of 95, in all states and Union Territories. This will take effect on April 1, 2026. Now, Samir Somaiya, the Chairman & Managing Director of Godavari Biorefineries Limited (GBL), a company that is into Ethanol manufacturing has opined that India should now target higher blends- possibly E50 (50% Ethanol blending). Clearly, not everyone would be happy with this statement.
What He Said
Somaiya was responding to the above-mentioned directive when he made this statement. He welcomed the decision to mandate E20 petrol at all bunks. The Chairman sees it as a positive signal for India’s energy transition journey. He said that it wasn’t long ago that the government set its E20 targets. The original timeline was then set to 2030. However, 20% ethanol blending was achieved well ahead of the same. Consistent policy support and strong industry participation have both helped in achieving this by 2025.
Then he talks about his E50 vision. He says that E20 has now become the national baseline. E50 (50% Ethanol blended petrol) is definitely achievable. There are multiple pathways for the same.
“First, the industry today has demonstrated sufficient capacity and resilience to support higher blending percentages. Second, there is an urgent need to enable Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) in India by providing them a level playing field similar to Electric Vehicles. FFVs must be viewed with the same policy yardstick as EVs if India is serious about accelerating its transition away from fossil fuels,” – says Somaia.
The Chairman is essentially calling for policy backing and incentives/subsidies for flex fuel vehicles. Incentivisation can boost adoption, and is a widely used tactic in any industry that is in its nascent phase. Once the market matures, incentives are taken off. We’ve seen it with electric vehicles. We may see it with hybrids and flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the future.
Somaiya believes that defossilisation cannot happen through electrification alone. Just a complete transition to electric vehicles cannot enable the country to achieve its Net Zero targets. Blended fuels will have a crucial role in it. Farms, regenerative agriculture and bio-based value chains will all have roles in it.
Ethanol burns cleaner than conventional petrol. Ethanol-blended petrol has lesser emissions than pure petrol. As blending increases, emissions would decrease. E50 will burn much cleaner than E20.
Not all citizens are happy with the transition to E20 petrol. Though the government has denied it, Ethanol-blended fuel can be harmful to older vehicles, while those manufactured after 2023 would stay mostly unaffected. On older vehicles, E20 petrol can damage rubber and plastic components and can even corrode some of the engine components. Old vehicles are also likely to see a visible drop in mileage.
People who own old vehicles are already upset with the E20 push. The E50 vision will only make them even more unhappy. That said, the actual direction that the government would take in this, remains to be seen. It remains unclear if higher blends will be explored in the near future.
Ethanol is manufactured from surplus grain and sugarcane. Godavari Biorefineries produces Ethanol primarily from sugarcanes.
The Chairman says that the company aligns fully with the principle of ‘Food First, Fuel Second’. “Our efforts are focused on ensuring adequate crop surplus that can simultaneously support India’s Net Zero goals, enhance energy security, mitigate climate change and improve farmer incomes”- says Somaiya.
Maize Dominates Ethanol Market
However, when we look at the larger picture, grain-based distilleries dominate the Ethanol industry. Maize-based production tops the chart, with an allocation of 478.90 crore litres (46%) and supply of 86.45 crore litres (36%).
Sugarcane-based Ethanol, on the other hand, accounts of 28% of allocations and has a 37% share in actual supplies. The supplies percentage is slightly higher in case of cane-based Ethanol, hinting at faster off-take.
Comments are closed.