A chasm between soaring demand and a “chaotic global landscape” of policy inconsistency is stalling India’s ambitions to scale up Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), experts warned on Friday at a major
bio-energy IBET 2025 conference in the national Capital on Friday.
While India boasts a proven capacity for next-generation bio-fuels, speakers emphasised that a lack of coherent, long-term global and domestic policy visibility is preventing the industry from taking off.
The final day of the International Conference on Bio-energy and Technologies Transition to Net Zero, held at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, highlighted that policy flux is the biggest hurdle.
“We are at a critical juncture where the strong demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is colliding with a profound policy and economic uncertainty, fundamentally stalling commitment and growth,” said Isha Mittal, Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group. She underscored the need for coherent policy instruments, such as insurance or five-year planning visibility, to unlock financing for SAF development.
This policy inconsistency spans major markets, with fluctuating Green House Gas (GHG) reduction norms and changing acceptable feedstocks. This creates “deep uneasiness for producers” and prevents airlines from making the long-term commitments essential for net-zero targets.
The issue of cost competitiveness was also central to the discussion on the broader bioenergy sector. Samyak Pandey, Editor of Global Biofuels and Agriculture Markets at S&P Global, noted that for the Global South, the biggest hurdle is not the lack of feedstock, but its availability “at a certain price point” that makes it difficult for downstream suppliers.
A significant shift in the global market was also highlighted: Asian giants are pivoting. They are moving away from exporting raw, upstream feedstocks to instead focusing on exporting value-added downstream bio-products to Western markets.
Despite the challenges, speakers highlighted India’s immense potential. In the ethanol sector, India has moved from scarcity to abundance, holding over 2,100 crore litres of capacity with surplus sugar, corn, and rice. Harjeet Singh, Executive Director at Hero MotoCorp, termed India’s ethanol blending programme a “360-degree win-win,” citing benefits for farmers, reduced oil imports, and lower emissions. Ravi Gupta, Chairman of IFGE, called scaling flexible fuel vehicles the “low-hanging fruit” for the next phase of India’s green mobility.
For Compressed Biogas (CBG), India is seeing momentum. Inderjit Singh, Director, UPNEDA, announced that his agency has received around 700 applications for various bio-plants, with 45 already installed and 61 CBG projects under construction. Uttar Pradesh, in
particular, is exploring biomass-based green hydrogen as a cheaper alternative to electrolyser-based production, which could significantly reduce import dependence.
However, State policies add layers of complexity. Narendra Bhooshan, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy & Additional Sources of Energy Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, pointed out that current policies limit subsidies to one CBG plant per location.
This is necessary to safeguard biomass supply, reserving 60 per cent for farmers' needs. He stressed that first-come, first-serve licensing and predominantly private fertile land require careful governance and “innovative pricing” to make CBG projects viable.
Financing institutions are stepping up. Dr RK Singh, CGM, Green Vertical, SIDBI, shared that as an accredited entity of the Green Climate Fund, SIDBI is blending $200 million from the Fund with $800 million from the market to support Indian MSMEs transitioning to green energy.
The conference ultimately underscored that while India possesses the biomass, technology, and policy intention, a globally and domestically aligned, long-term policy framework remains critical to unlock the massive capital required to move from potential to large-scale, net-zero reality.