Ethanol centre of excellence launched in India

Strengthening bilateral ties between Brazil and India for the promotion of ethanol and its blends in the automotive sector, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, government of India launched the Virtual Center of Excellence (CoE) at the Auto Expo 2023 in the presence of delegates from UNICA and SIAM.

The CoE has been developed by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Billing ethanol as the green fuel of the future in India, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri congratulated SIAM and UNICA on the launch of the CoE and highlighted the announcement as an important milestone in the nation’s journey to achieving E20 by 2025.

The Virtual Center of Excellence (CoE) is a platform that highlights ethanol’s role as part of the solution in decarbonisation. It aims to provide users with information on ethanol, biomass for bioenergy, and sustainability of biofuels, and provide stakeholders with relevant technological and policy initiatives that will smoothen India’s transition to low-carbon mobility.

Bento Albuquerque, Ex-Minister of Mines & Energy, Brazil said, “It is exciting to see how fast the bioenergy and the automotive industries are evolving in our countries, Brazil and India and they should continue working together to promote global market development and offer sustainable, affordable, and reliable solutions for low carbon transportation. The India-Brazil Centre of Excellence is a step in the right direction to transform this ambition into reality.”

Brazil is one of the largest producers of ethanol in the world and is home to the world’s largest fleet of cars that use ethanol as fuel. India also has a strong focus on biofuels and has brought forward by five years, to 2025, the goal of achieving a 20% ethanol blend in gasoline. India is the second largest sugar producer in the world, after Brazil, and has the potential to convert surplus sugar stocks into ethanol.