Global Biofuels Alliance Gains Momentum with India's Innovative Biofuel Solutions

India will show the world a new path on biofuels through the Global Biofuels Alliance, stated Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs.

Expressing his views through a series of posts on the social media platform ‘X’ the Minister noted that following the mantra of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, this effort of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely reduce the dependence on petrol and diesel across the world.

Creating history in the global energy sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) on the sidelines of the G20 Summit yesterday. 19 countries and 12 international organizations have already agreed to join the alliance.

GBA is an India-led Initiative to develop an alliance of Governments, International organizations, and Industry to facilitate the adoption of biofuels. Bringing together the biggest consumers and producers of biofuels to drive biofuel development and deployment, the initiative aims to position biofuels as a key to energy transition and contribute to jobs and economic growth.

Hardeep Puri observed that the world’s quest for cleaner and greener energy has gained historic momentum with the launch of GBA on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

The Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister expressed his gratitude to Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of the Department of Energy, US; Alexandre Silveira, Energy Minister of Brazil; and Dr Evandro Gussi President and CEO of UNICA Brazil for germinating the seeds of forming Global Biofuels Alliance.

Hardeep Singh Puri noted that the visionary Global Biofuels Alliance supported by G20 Nations and energy related global organizations like International Energy Agency (IEA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), World Economic Forum (WEO), and World LPG Association among others will strengthen global biofuels trade and best practices allowing the members to successfully face the Energy Quadrilemma. This will bolster the transformation of our farmers from ‘Annadatas to Urjadatas’ as an additional source of income.

In the last 9 years, we have given ₹71,600 cr to our farmers. With E20 implementation by 2025, India will save about ₹45,000 cr in oil imports and 63 MT of oil annually, he added.

GBA will support the worldwide development and deployment of sustainable biofuels by offering capacity-building exercises across the value chain, technical support for national programs, and promoting policy lessons-sharing. It will facilitate mobilizing a virtual marketplace to assist industries, countries, ecosystem players, and key stakeholders in mapping demand and supply, as well as connecting technology providers to end users. It will also facilitate the development, adoption, and implementation of internationally recognized standards, codes, sustainability principles, and regulations to incentivize biofuels adoption and trade.

The initiative will be beneficial for India on multiple fronts. GBA as a tangible outcome of the G20 presidency, will help strengthen India’s position globally.

Moreover, the alliance will focus on collaboration and will provide additional opportunities to Indian industries in the form of exporting technology and exporting equipment. It will help accelerate India’s existing biofuel programs such as PM-JIVANYojna, SATAT, and GOBARdhan scheme, thereby contributing to increased farmers’ income, creating jobs, and overall development of the Indian ecosystem. 

The global ethanol market was valued at USD 99.06 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% by 2032 and surpass USD 162.12 billion by 2032.

As per IEA, there will be 3.5-5x biofuels growth potential by 2050 due to Net Zero targets, creating a huge opportunity for India.