At the inaugural session of the India Bio-Energy & Tech Expo 2024 (IBETE), Hardeep Singh Puri, the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, presented a detailed account of India’s progress in the bioenergy sector and its critical role in the country’s energy transformation.
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that the government is taking all necessary measures to reach a 20 percent ethanol blending target in petrol.
Minister urged Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways Transport Minister Gadkari, to encourage automobile manufacturers to produce vehicles compatible with E100 fuel. He addressed common misconceptions about ethanol blending, clarifying that blending ethanol with petrol not only improves engine performance by increasing the octane number but also enhances engine efficiency. Contrary to some concerns, ethanol’s presence in fuel helps prevent pre-ignition knock and improves overall engine operation.
“I would like to commend the automobile industry for not only manufacturing new vehicles that are compliant with E 20 fuel, but also for their efforts in developing retrofit kits for older vehicles,” Puri added.
He also said that India’s ethanol blending program has reached 15 percent in 2024, resulting in foreign exchange savings of Rs 99,014 crore over the past decade.
