Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated Praj’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demonstration facility at its R&D Center in Pune on January 20, 2024. Praj has developed a proprietary technology to process agricultural feedstocks for the production of SAF that can be blended with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

The hard to abate Aviation Industry is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels and also an emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). According to the India Brand Equity Foundation 2023 report, the government has set a target to operationalise 1000 UDAN routes and to revive 100 airports by 2024. Thus, India is the third largest and fastest-growing civil aviation market in the World. The low carbon SAF has a significant role in helping India achieve its net zero goal targets by 2070.

During the inauguration ceremony, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs said, “This facility demonstrating indigenously developed technology for production of SAF is a testament to India’s rising prowess in the Global Bioeconomy. Utilisation of Captive Agri-Resources for the production of Biofuels such as SAF is aligned with the government’s goals towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat and will go a long way in helping India achieve its energy self-reliance by 2047. I compliment the visionary leadership of Dr Pramod Chaudhari and Team Praj for this exciting development.”

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries said, “Inauguration of SAF demonstration facility is yet another milestone in Praj’s pursuit of energy transition through Bioeconomy. Recently, we collaborated with IOCL and AirAsia India to successfully fly India’s first commercial passenger flight with 1% SAF produced at our bench scale setup that was blended with ATF. We truly believe in India’s potential to be a hub for supplying SAF for the Global Aviation Industry and we stand committed to helping build SAF production capacities. We thank Hon. Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri ji for his continued guidance and encouragement.”

It may be noted that around 3% of all GHG emissions worldwide are currently attributable to aviation. Unless controlled, otherwise the emissions may zoom to as much as 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions from the aviation sector by 2050. Harnessing Sustainable Aviation Fuels is regarded as the most promising pathway for helping achieve this target.