Global Biofuel Alliance announcement likely at G20 meet: Indian Biogas Assn

Global Biofuel Alliance announcement likely at G20 meet: Indian Biogas Assn

The Indian Biogas Association (IBA) is optimistic about the announcement of a Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) at the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi, which would commence on September 9, Chairman Gaurav Kedia told Moneycontrol.

Kedia said he is hopeful that, at the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be announcing a GBA as well as its objectives.

Under India’s G20 presidency, the GBA has been one of the priorities. India’s proposed biofuel alliance would facilitate cooperation and intensify the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector, the government has said.

The GBA has evinced interest from several G20 nations. However, a final decision has not been taken yet.

Biofuel or bio-energy is a form of energy which is generated from organic and agricultural materials, known as biomass. Biofuels help in reducing emissions and have therefore gained world-wide popularity, which is accelerating to meet net zero carbon emission targets.

What will the biofuel alliance do?

The Union government had said in February during India Energy Week 2023 that the biofuel alliance would place emphasis on strengthening markets, facilitating global biofuels trade, developing concrete policy lesson-sharing and providing technical support for national biofuel programmes worldwide.

Kedia said one of the things the GBA could help in is research and development (R&D), where around 20 large countries could pool their talent to look for a balanced ecosystem.

The GBA could provide a proper ecosystem to exchange knowledge or have a defined roadmap for bioenergy, he added.

“Global Biofuel Alliance would be a big announcement. This will further carve the way for the development of biofuel, and we are very hopeful that biogas is something which is showing a lot of promise now. One of the main reasons is the world scenario right now. As you know, CNG prices are going up like anything. So how will you really cater to that? How will you really overcome that demand? Biogas is the answer,” said Kedia.

5,000 compressed biogas plants by 2030 in India

IBA expects India to set up 5,000 compressed biogas plants (CBG) by 2030. The GBA could give an impetus to this target and give direction in putting plants on ground, said Kedia.

He added that the government has received around 4,090 letters of intent (LoI) for setting up CBG plants around India. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the Adani Group and other energy PSUs plan to establish CBG plants in India.

Reliance, which has recently become India’s largest bio-energy producer, plans to establish 100 CBG plants in the next five years, consuming 5.5 million tonnes of agro-residue and organic waste.

Indian Oil, HPCL, GAIL and other oil companies are also working in the CBG segment.

Bullish on India

The IBA chairman said that he is particularly bullish on India’s growth as, unlike developed economies that have reached a steady state, India has a lot of growth potential.

“In India, we see a lot of growth on the ground; people are ready to invest in the energy sector, and in the agricultural sector, and people are ready to look forward from the innovation perspective. So we are very bullish on India's growth story,” said Kedia.

“India has a large population of youth with large talent who really want to do something and thanks to technology, it is happening,” he added.