Natural Gas: On one hand, the CNG network continues to expand, making the fuel more accessible. India aiming to invest $4.95 billion in natural gas pipeline infrastructure in north-eastern states and northern federal territories and planning to increase natural gas share to 15% by 2030. The spread of CNG stations across the country has risen to 3343 stations as of April 30, 2021, targeted to expand to 10,000 stations by 2030. At the same time, the Indian government is focusing on strengthening the LNG infrastructure to enable 1 lakh LNG buses / trucks this year.

Ethanol: The Government of India’s resolute promotion of ethanol production and utilisation, highlighted by the launch of “Global Biofuels Alliance” at the recent G20 summit has opened huge portals of opportunity. Under the “Ethanol Blended with Petrol” (EBP) Programme, the Government targets 20% blending of ethanol with petrol by 2025, which requires about 1700 crore liters of ethanol production capacity. This will not only lower the nation’s import bill for crude oil, but is also creating huge opportunities for the sugar and allied industries with ethanol finding a new market and major application area. Leading oil marketing companies (OMCs) are set to procure 301 crore litres of ethanol annually, while experts are trying to address supply side constraints. At the same time, flex fuel variants of popular PV models have already been launched by leading Automotive OEMs.

Hydrogen: The government has approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19744 crore with the aim of making India a hub for manufacturing green hydrogen. The green hydrogen policy put out by the MNRE envisages the production of 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. The government has already announced a financial incentive of Rs 13050 crore for green hydrogen production and Rs 4440 crore for the production of electrolysers, giving a boost to the electrolyser industry. At the same time, leading Automotive OEM’s and major Auto Component technology pioneers are at the forefront of maturing hydrogen fuel cell technology as well as the much awaited H2ICE powertrain for HCV applications.

Compressed Biogas:: The government is giving a major push and policy incentive to biogas production, announcing setting up of 198 green energy plants so far this fiscal year, which includes 12 compressed biogas (CBG) plants and 186 biogas plants, while 556 plants—129 CBG and 427 biogas are being developed.