Ethanol may soon make its way to your kitchen as a cooking fuel. Even as debate rages on the impact of E20 petrol, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is preparing a policy framework that aims at making ethanol a mainstream household cooking fuel.As part of the proposed framework, the government is expected to examine subsidy mechanisms and measures to develop the necessary supply chain for wider adoption of ethanol. At the same time, industry associations representing fuel suppliers are understood to be holding parallel discussions with the government on the proposed policy, according to an ET report.
Ethanol in kitchens
Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced through the fermentation of sugars and food grains. Expanding the use of ethanol as a cooking fuel could help India lower its reliance on LPG and reduce its growing fuel import bill. “An alternative clean cooking policy is in the works that would help ethanol to be adopted alongside LPG (liquified petroleum gas) as a household cooking fuel,” an executive told the financial daily, adding that the policy could be ready by September.In April, a report suggested that, following the government’s direction, ethanol-powered cooking stoves were undergoing trials as a cleaner alternative for household cooking.“To promote ethanol cooking, the government may roll out some sort of a subsidy scheme too that would be capital-driven (a one-time investment support) or an ongoing fiscal commitment,” said a second industry executive.India’s move to promote ethanol as a household cooking fuel comes at a time when domestic ethanol availability has risen sharply. According to a CareEdge Ratings report released in May, the country’s annual ethanol production capacity has already exceeded 20 billion litres, with an additional 4 billion litres expected to be added during the current financial year.Of this capacity, around 11 billion litres are consumed annually under the government’s E20 ethanol blending programme, while liquor manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and chemical producers together use another 3-3.5 billion litres. This leaves nearly 7 billion litres of production capacity unutilised.With this surplus, India could also explore ethanol exports to neighbouring markets such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia, where ethanol blending targets stand at 10% but domestic feedstock availability and distillation capacity remain inadequate.Oil marketing companies are also understood to be actively involved in discussions on the initiative. They have undertaken research and development related to ethanol-powered cooking stoves and are exploring potential acquisitions or partnerships involving existing ethanol cooking technologies.Industry executives said that, as part of the rollout, state-run oil marketing companies may be asked to install ethanol automated teller machines (ATMs), allowing consumers to purchase ethanol in canisters for use in these stoves. These dispensing units could be set up at the retail fuel outlets operated by oil companies.“We all saw how the West Asia war impacted India’s LPG supply. It is a good option to use excess ethanol capacity as an alternative fuel to LPG and reduce imports of the fuel,” said another industry executive.Although India has diversified its LPG procurement since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict on February 28, it continues to rely heavily on Gulf countries for LPG imports, with a substantial share of those supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Following the supply disruptions exposed by the Iran war, state-owned oil marketing companies are preparing a strategic LPG storage plan capable of covering nearly 30 days of demand to strengthen the country’s energy security.A report titled India’s Clean Cooking Shift: Scaling non-fossil fuel solutions, released by the International Institute for Sustainable Development in February, stated that shifting towards electric cooking and biogas could help India save more than Rs 2 lakh crore ($24 billion) in cumulative LPG subsidies by 2050.
