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Govt wants multiple methanol plants over next 5-7 years: VK Saraswat

2024-10-17 00:00:00.0 商业标准报-经济和政策原网页

The Centre aims to promote methanol as a green fuel, and based on initial discussions, it anticipates multiple methanol plants to be established over the next five years, Niti Aayog member VK Saraswat said on Wednesday.

“We hope that as part of the coal gasification mission, there will be at least a couple of plants manufacturing coal-to-methanol in the next five to seven years. We are also collaborating with public and private industry to set up bamboo-to-methanol plants to produce green methanol, which will then be utilised for both domestic and export purposes,” Saraswat said.

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The Centre is developing a regulatory framework for methanol production and usage based on global standards, he added.

Saraswat was speaking to reporters ahead of the second International Methanol Seminar and Expo in New Delhi, which begins on Thursday. This seminar, held after eight years, aims to highlight progress in the methanol economy since the first edition.

“Key Indian industries like Kirloskar, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Penta, FCTecNrgy, Wesman Thermal Process, Metfuel, Thermax, BHEL, NTPC, and Defence labs like NMRL have developed 100 per cent methanol buses, trucks, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), gensets, fuel cell and reformed-based energy applications, boilers, gas turbines, and other cutting-edge applications. The full range of products and technologies will be showcased at the Expo,” the Aayog stated in a press release.

India currently produces 0.8 million tonnes of methanol annually against a demand of 4 million tonnes. The government policy think tank expects this demand to rise to 10-15 million tonnes by 2030, which will necessitate a strong push to boost domestic production.

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Methanol, in addition to being a transportation fuel, is used in chemical production, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The Aayog projects a 35 per cent reduction in carbon emissions with large-scale methanol adoption.

The government has also been working to replace diesel-consuming ships on inland waterways—about 50 vessels a day—with methanol-powered alternatives.

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