It is a great ‘E Square-E Square’ win-win model. But then it clashes with the ‘F Square-F Square’ conundrum, with both positive benefits and allied challenges. Finally, there is invariably the ‘T’ factor that needs to be addressed.
The use of biofuels, or energy from organic sources (food crops and waste), as opposed to fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, and natural gas), offers a globally-relevant, economically-attractive, grandly-sustainable, environment-friendly, and citizen-centric solution to a host of current problems.
It is emerging as a panacea to tackle critical issues that not only threaten our lifestyles and economies, but the future of Planet Earth.
For instance, biofuels offer Earth Security, or saving of the planet, via Environment Security since they lead to a drastic reduction of harmful carbon emissions, and negate Climate Change effects, which are the ‘Achilles Heel’ of fossilised fuels.
Organic energy sources enable Economic Security, as they enhance Energy Security because they are easily produced domestically, and they dramatically lower imports of crude and gas that result in huge forex savings.
According to a document released during the recent G-20 Summit held in New Delhi, “there is vast feedstock potential to be unlocked which could result in an up-to 5x increase in biofuels produced.”
Critics contend that directing food crops such as sugar and corn for biofuels threatens Food Security. Organic fuel can improve Farmers’ Security, and the government estimates that they can hike farm incomes by over a billion dollars. But an article (www.context.news) highlights that biofuels need “land and water use that can have a larger climate impact than fossil fuel emissions.”
Although organic sources provide Factory Security through higher domestic energy production, they impact Financial Security. The G-20 document admits that while “fund-raising has been a major concern due to uncertainty of profit margins,” higher capital expenses ensures that “cost parity with fossil fuels is difficult to achieve.”
When it comes to replacing old fuels with new ones, Technology holds the key. The trick lies in shifting from First-Generation biofuels based on crops, which is in vogue in India, to Second-, Third-, and Fourth-Generation ones based on waste, algae, and genetically-modified (GM) microorganisms, respectively.
According to a website, waste-dependent biofuels are saddled with high costs and low yields, algae-based ones need “optimal environments,” and GM ones “face uncertainty around commercial scalability.” A recent piece on www.orfonline.org states that India needs to “expand the production of second-generation (2-G), or waste-based, fuels.”
There is no denying the fact that each of us (all the nations, and more than eight billion global citizens) need to save Planet Earth. Pollution from fossil fuels and other sources may destroy our world within a century.
A recent study by TERI (https://teriin.org) estimates that air pollution costs Indian businesses almost $100 billion every year. Couple this with the millions of deaths due to it, both in India and other nations. United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 states there is a need to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.”
Since 2014, during the three tenures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged as the leader in the “global fight against Climate Change,” Her aggression is evident through the commitment to green energy and biofuels.
India has set commendable targets to reach net-zero pollution levels by 2070, and meet half of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030. She advanced the target to use 20 per cent ethanol (sugarcane-based biofuel) in petrol from 2030 to 2025.
This is important since the TERI report claims that India is the third-largest user of automobiles in the world, and her dependence on fossil fuels for transport is “relatively high (70 per cent).”
Government subsidies and new policies have enthused biofuel-makers to invest huge sums. In 2022, the state-owned Indian Oil set up Asia’s first 2-G ethanol biorefinery, which can produce 30 million liters of ethanol from 200,000 tons of rice straw (waste).
Others have developed inhouse technologies for other biofuels like compressed biogas, and sustainable aviation fuel. The potential is immense. For example, agricultural waste is a “promising source” for 2-G biofuels.
The article on www.orfonline.org states that India generates more than 750 million tons of agricultural waste every year, of which nearly a third is “surplus and can be used for fuel production.”
According to NITI Aayog, the prominent government think-tank, India produced more than seven billion liters of blended ethanol in 2023-24 from sources such as molasses and sugar (42.6 per cent), maize (39.6 per cent), and damaged foodgrains (17.4 per cent). Estimates indicate that the country saved several billion dollars in foreign exchange in 2024-25, which will soon rise to $6.5 billion, due to lower crude and gas imports.
Farmers gained due to the sales to industries, although pricing of the raw materials remains a concern. Thousands of people gained direct and indirect employment in the biofuel sector.
India needs to factor in food security in the biofuel equation. According to a recent study (https://apps.fas.usda.gov), to enhance ethanol production, the country curbed sugar exports in 2022, and “limited the use of sugarcane and its derivatives for ethanol production” in 2023-24 to “mitigate inflationary pressure on domestic consumption.”
The report adds that lower rice production pushed policy-makers to ban the “use of broken rice for ethanol production due to the depleted foodgrain stock.” Biofuels can fuel the farmers’ enthusiasm to change cropping patterns, which have long-term effects. Higher sugarcane production, and use of agriculture waste can impact soil fertility, and water tables.
Clearly, India needs to drive its technological edge to reap the benefits of biofuels, and blunt the negative effects.
More investment needs to flow in R&D so that the country can quickly jump from 1-G organic energy sources to 2-G, 3-G, and 4-G. Apart from the positive socio-economic impact, it will transform areas such as energy, environment, agriculture, and manufacturing.
According to a study (https://apps.fas.usda.gov), there are huge consumer benefits. “Ethanol has a lower energy content compared to pure petrol, which can result in decreased mileage (of vehicles). Additionally, certain engine components may be more susceptible to erosion when exposed to higher ethanol concentrations, potentially leading to premature replacement, and increasing total cost of ownership,” it states.
(The author is a veteran business journalist)