Indian Oil and Praj form JV to build biofuels production capacities in India

Home
Industry News
Indian Oil and Praj form JV to build biofuels production capacities in India

Indian Oil and Praj form JV to build biofuels production capacities in India

Industry News
Jul 07,23

JV will strengthen Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's (IOCL) resolve to achieve its goal of net-zero operational emissions by 2046 and maintain IOCL's leadership in the green energy domain, said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, IOCL.

Indian Oil and Praj form JV to build biofuels production capacities in India

New Delhi

In a significant development today, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Praj Industries Ltd signed a term sheet to advance plans to strengthen biofuels production capacities in India. Various biofuels covered under this MoU include Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Ethanol, Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG), Biodiesel and Bio-bitumen among others. Earlier in October 2021, both the Companies had entered into an agreement to form a 50:50 Joint Venture to this end.

Talking about the development, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, Indian Oil Corp, 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.”

Vaidya added, "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 decarbonisation 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, "Indian Oil and Praj have been collaborating to facilitate India’s energy transition towards a greener future in the past as well. The nation’s first-of-its-kind advanced biofuels refinery at Indian Oil’s Panipat complex is based on Praj’s proprietary 2G technology. This year in May, Indian Oil and Praj partnered with AirAsia India and flew India’s first-ever commercial passenger flight powered by a blend of ‘indigenous’ Sustainable Aviation Fuel. We are proud of our partnership with IndianOil, which is further reinforced with this important milestone.”

He added that 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," Dr Pramod Chaudhari said.

In pursuit of energy self-reliance by leveraging captive resources, the country has aggressive plans to reconfigure the transportation fuel mix with biofuels. Biofuels are an integral part of India's flourishing Bioeconomy that plays a significant role as a sustainable climate action tool.

Over the past four decades, Praj, an industrial biotech company, has focused on the environment, energy, and agri?process industry, with more than 1000 customer references spanning over 100 countries across all five continents. Bio?Mobility and Bio?Prism are the mainstays of Praj's contribution to the global bioeconomy. The Bio?Mobility platform offers technology solutions globally to produce the renewable transportation fuel, thus ensuring sustainable decarbonization through a circular bio-economy. The company's Bio?Prism portfolio comprises technologies for the production of renewable chemicals and materials, promises sustainability while reimagining nature. Praj Matrix, the state?of?the?art R&D facility, forms the backbone for the company's endeavors towards a clean energy?based bioeconomy.

Praj's diverse portfolio comprises bio?energy solutions, critical process equipment & skids, breweries, zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems and high purity water systems.