SIAM hosts symposium to promote use of ethanol in mobility

  • Industry News
  • Jan 18,23
The international symposium opened new doors for India becoming an ethanol friendly industry, also signs the MoU toward the promotion of higher ethanol blends in the Indian gasoline mix
SIAM hosts symposium to promote use of ethanol in mobility

The society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) organised an International Symposium for Thriving Eco-Energy in Mobility (ISTEM), at the India Expo Mart, during the Auto Expo 2023. The conference, ISTEM took place on 13th January and focused on promoting ethanol as a sustainable fuel and covered topics for stakeholder discussion for bringing clarity to this fuel transition. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India also inaugurated the Ethanol Pavilion, where the vehicle features and technological developments were showcased to emphasize the use of FFVs and their future possibilities. The pavilion was organized as a part of the year-round activities to promote the use of ethanol.

The SIAM and the US Grains Council also signed a Memorandum of Understanding during the conference. President of SIAM, Vinod Aggarwal and Josh Miller, Chairman, USGC in presence of Hardeep Singh Puri, representing Govt of India and Gloria Berbena, Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy, signed the MOU toward the promotion of higher ethanol blends in the Indian gasoline mix and its impact on the automobile industry. The Government of India has mandated SIAM to promote ethanol as a transportation fuel, jointly with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). India’s Ethanol Blending Programme is driven by the highest level within the Government. The important deadlines decided for pan India implementation of E-20 are 2023 for vehicles to be material compliant, and 2025 for vehicles to be fully E-20 compliant. Leading four-wheeler and two-wheelers companies and oil marketing companies including Toyota Kirloskar, Maruti Suzuki India, TVS Motor Company, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto Limited, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Suzuki Motorcycle India, Yamaha Motor India, HPCL, IOCL, BPCL, and Oil India Ltd. participated in the exposition and showcased their flex-fuel technology. In addition, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) UNICA and PRAJ Industries showcase their capabilities. The Knowledge partners UNICA from Brazil and the US grain council from US-supported to spread ethanol knowledge to Indian customers.


Bonding new ties
“The year 2006 is the time when the journey of Ethanol started. Brazil and US were the only ones who had ethanol. Cut to the present times and I am glad that an MoU has been signed between India and the US council,” said Puri while addressing the conference as chief guest.

“SIAM appreciates the role and vision of the US Council in developing long-term partnerships with Indian stakeholders, creating opportunities and adding value. We are now aligned for rolling out E20 material-compliant vehicles and the production of E20-tuned vehicles. Ethanol adoption, apart from leading to GHG emission reductions, will also help the country reduce its import dependency, thus saving precious foreign exchange. This move is in line with SIAM’s vision of Building the Nation Responsibly,” told Aggarwal. Bento Albuquerque, Ex-Minister of Mines & Energy, Brazil said, “India and Brazil can work together in providing affordable bio-energy to the automobile industry and requires multi- stake collaboration.”

Bento Albuquerque, Ex-Minister of Mines & Energy, Brazil while addressing assured, “India and Brazil can work together in providing affordable bio-energy to the automobile industry and requires multi-stake collaboration.” With this Gloria Berbena supported efforts of SIAM and USGC in adopting ethanol based economy for overall environmental protection.

The plenary session held themed Biofuels: Boon for the Indian Sustainability Roadmap. In a special address Sunil Kumar, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said, “India is ready to roll out E20 shortly and ultimately will move towards flex fuel transition.” The audience also got to see many presentations at the symposium. Ron Lamberty, Senior Vice President of, the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) presented at the event on the US Experience and use of Ethanol in the US while Dr S S V Ramakumar, Director, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., R&D presented on Indian ethanol experience. Another presentation was by Dr Plinio Nastari, President, Datagro, on Brazilian handling of ethanol and Rafael Chang, President, Toyota, Brazil, on the Market transition towards ethanol.  Aditya Jhunjhunwala, President of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), mentioned that “ISMA believes that the time has come to explore how FFVs can be promoted in the country.” Vikram Kasbekar, Executive Director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said, “Scheme like FAME 2 will give thrust to the industry.”

A technical session on Low carbon fuels: Necessity for curbing air pollution The symposium was also followed by a Technical Session on Low carbon fuels: Necessity for curbing air pollution. Eduardo Leao de Sousa, Executive Director, UNICA, gave a presentation on the theme. Subhash Kumar, Ex-chairman of ONGC & Member Energy Transition Advisory Committee chaired the session, “Biofuel can help India attain net zero objectives. India generates 5200 Million metric tons of biomass every year and Ethanol being part of the fuel system is bringing a remarkable change in terms of reducing carbon footprint and affordability.”

Harjeet Singh, Senior Advisor Technical, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. candidly explained the readiness of the two-wheeler industry to meet consumer demand. Dr Reji Mathai, Director Automotive Research Association of India echoed the sentiment of the conference. These conferences establish advocacy of all the stakeholders on the E20 added Mathai. Kelly Davis, Vice President of, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) addressed the session and explained US’s Ethanol experience can provide guidelines to India towards a sustainable future. Ryuta Niimura, Chief Engineer, Honda Motor Corporation Limited, explained the experience of Honda Motor in Brazil and how the use of ethanol is resulting in a cleaner environment and a sustainable future.

An environment-friendly note
Leaving the final note, the session on Fostering Energy Security using indigenous biofuel sources, chaired by Shantanu Gupta, Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation Limited explained the SATAT Scheme and its directives towards natural gas production for affordable transportation. He added that Indian Oil also aims to reach net zero by 2046. The session also included presentations from Mike Lorenz, Senior Vice President, Growth Energy, USA, indicating the influence of ethanol in a pollution-free world. Flavio Castellari, Executive Director, APLA, helped in understanding the support being provided by the Brazilian industry to SIAM and other stakeholders. Jitendar Goyal, Associate Vice President –Technical, Toyota Kirloskar Motors Limited, gave a global experience in TKML in handling E20 and P.S Ravi, Executive Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited showcase the distribution effectiveness in coming time through oil marketing companies and transition from E20 to E85 in the near future.

With the concluding remarks by Prashant K Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM, the event ended on a good note. “This symposium showcased how far we have come in the automobile industry. I would like to thank the entire panellist for supporting and strengthening this mission.”

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