On occasion of World Biofuels Day (Aug. 10), India’s Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled first of its kind and Asia’s first 2G ethanol biorefinery of Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOCL) at Panipat Haryana. Praj is technology licensor and EPCM partner for this landmark project. This project is based on Praj’s proprietary technology processing rice straw as feedstock for production of ethanol.

While dedicating 2G ethanol biorefinery to the nation, PM Modi said,” Biofuel for us means green fuel, environment-saving fuel. With establishment of this modern plant, farmers of Haryana, where Rice and wheat are grown in abundance, will get another lucrative means of using crop residue. Farmers will now feel the pride of contributing to production of biofuel and nation building.”

Spanning across 35 acres, this 2G ethanol biorefinery is capable of processing 200,000 metric tons of rice straw annually to generate around 30 million liters of ethanol using Praj’s proprietary technology. While benefiting more than 100,000 farmers, this biorefinery is expected to create around 1,500 jobs for rural youth. Importantly, it will help address the major challenge of stubble burning related pollution by eliminating around 320,000 metric tons of CO2 every year which is equivalent to replacing nearly 63,000 cars on road annually. This 2G Bio-Refinery alone will save foreign exchange worth INR 55 – 60 crores every year that is otherwise incurred on fuel imports. This project will give boost to Make in India initiative & help achieve 20 percent ethanol blending.

Praj’s indigenously developed ‘enfinityTM’ technology processes different agricultural residues to produce variety of products including bioethanol, lignosulphonates, bio-bitumen with highest efficiencies. Praj has optimized project’s CAPEX and OPEX by harnessing design & engineering capabilities along with four decades of experience in Bioeconomy.

Speaking about this historical achievement, Pramod Chaudhari, funder chairman of Praj said, “We are very proud of our association with IOCL to set up this coveted project. This plant is a huge milestone in realizing Hon. Prime Minister’s vision of energy independent India. We believe success of this project reinforces India’s technology leadership in global Bioeconomy. On foothills of this success, SKY is the limit for biofuels, literally.”

The commissioning of the biorefinery has begun in the 1st week of August 2022 and commercial production of 2G ethanol will commence within 90 days.

Along with this project, Praj is also setting up similar projects for Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL), Bhatinda, Punjab and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL), Bargarh, Orissa.