New Delhi: World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th August to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels and to highlight the various efforts made by the Government in the biofuel sector.
This day also honors the research experiments by Sir Rudolf Diesel who ran an engine with peanut oil in the year 1893. His research experiment had predicted that vegetable oil is going to replace fossil fuels in the next century to fuel different mechanical engines.
In India World Biofuel Day is being observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas since 2015.
Hailing the day, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri said that Bio-fuels including ethanol blended fuel are powering India’s journey towards energy self-sufficiency by 2047 under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.
“On World Biofuel Day let us reiterate our commitment towards this green journey” he twitted . He said that India achieved 10% ethanol blending target 5 months in advance in June 2022 while availability of E20 blended petrol was also advanced to 2025, 5 years from earlier planned 2030.
“Infact 20% ethanol blended fuel is already available across 1650 bunks” he added.
India’s ethanol demand is poised to grow to 10.16 billion litres by 2025. 12 commercial plants and 10 demonstration plants of 2G biorefineries (using agricultural waste) have already been proposed.
Kishan Karunakaran, CEO of Buyofuel said that “Biofuels are revolutionizing the fossil fuel energy industry and providing a glimmer of hope for the change we desperately need. The term itself was relatively unknown even a few years ago. But now the Indian government is fully recognizing the immense potential of biofuels and actively promoting their usage at various levels.
The future holds great promise with ongoing research and development efforts to advance bio-CNG and green hydrogen on a larger scale”.
He added that the significance of this shift is not lost on people, as they realize the urgent need for change. For too long, coal has reigned supreme as the primary fuel source in industries. However, biofuels now offer a viable solution, enabling us to reduce our reliance on coal, minimize our carbon footprint, gain energy security, and mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change.
This is a moment for us to pause and reflect on the achievements we have made so far and the exciting milestones that lie ahead. We believe that the entire industry has the potential to drive positive change for a sustainable future”
G20 Biofuel Alliance
During the G20 summit, India will be pushing the formation of a “Global Biofuel Alliance”, as one of the priorities under India’s G20 Presidency. Brazil, India, and the United States, as leading biofuel producers and consumers, will work together during the next few months towards the development of a Global Biofuels Alliance along with other interested countries.
This Alliance will be aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector.
It will place emphasis on strengthening markets, facilitating global biofuels trade, development of concrete policy lesson-sharing and provision of technical support for national biofuels programs worldwide.
The alliance will also emphasize the already implemented best practices and success cases. The Alliance shall work in collaboration with and complement the relevant existing regional and international agencies as well as initiatives in the bioenergy, bioeconomy, and energy transition fields more broadly, including the Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Platform, the Mission Innovation Bioenergy initiatives, and the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP).
What is a Biofuel?
Biofuels, classified as fuels derived from organic sources like plants, crops, and animal waste, present a convincing and environmentally friendly ecosystem substitute for conventional fossil fuels.
Named “biofuels,” these energy sources are created from biomass, including plants, agricultural residues, green growth and crops.
As the global environmental consciousness strengthens, these renewable biofuels arise as a vital catalyst in shortening carbon emissions by as much as 90%, in this manner establishing their imperative job in the change toward a more sustainable and ecologically conscious planet.
