Indian Oil, Praj to form joint venture for building biofuel production capacity in India

Photo: Praj Industries Ltd.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Praj Industries Ltd. signed a term sheet to advance plans to strengthen biofuels production capacities in India, Praj announced July 6.

Various biofuels covered under this agreement include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), ethanol, compressed biogas (CBG), biodiesel and biobitumen, among others.

Earlier in October 2021, the companies had entered into an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture to this end.

“The collaboration with an Indian biofuel major, Praj, is a remarkable milestone in Indian Oil’s green-energy transition journey,” said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, chairman of Indian Oil. “It will strengthen our resolve to achieve our goal of net-zero operational emissions by 2046 and maintain our leadership in the green-energy domain.”

Vaidya also added that being an agrarian economy, India offers the advantage of sufficient availability of feedstock.

The indigenous biofuels will be a game changer in helping India chart its decarbonization journey.

Biofuels offer a win-win situation by reducing dependence on crude imports, boosting the rural economy and offering sustainable, cleaner mobility options.

“Indian Oil and Praj have been collaborating to facilitate India’s energy transition towards a greener future in the past as well,” said Pramod Chaudhari, founder and chairman of Praj Industries. “The nation’s first-of-its-kind advanced biofuels refinery at Indian Oil’s Panipat complex is based on Praj’s proprietary second-generation technology. This year in May, Indian Oil and Praj partnered with AirAsia India and flew India’s first-ever commercial passenger flight powered by a blend of indigenous sustainable aviation fuel. We are proud of our partnership with Indian Oil, which is further reinforced with this important milestone.”

He also added that biofuels positively impact the socioeconomic and environmental aspects, thereby facilitating sustainable development.

Readying India to build SAF production capacity in pursuit of clean skies is our priority, to strengthen “Atmanirbhar Bharat,” or a self-reliant India.

In pursuit of energy self-reliance by leveraging captive resources, the country has aggressive plans to reconfigure the transportation-fuel mix with biofuels.

Biofuels are an integral part of India’s flourishing bioeconomy that plays a significant role as a sustainable climate-action tool.