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IndianOil and LanzaTech join hands for developing Fuel Grade Ethanol
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| merisarkar news service, New Delhi, January 15, 2011 |
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BM Bansal with Dr. Jennifer Holmgren
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State owned petroleum major and a leading clean energy technology company - LanzaTech - have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration in a technology demonstration that will enable IndianOil to produce fuel grade ethanol.
As a part of the collaboration, IndianOil will evaluate LanzaTech's proprietary gas fermentation technology in one of its refineries to produce fuel grade ethanol.
The MOU was signed by Sharat Meshram, Executive Director (Petrochemicals), IndianOil and Prabhakar Nair, Vice President (Business Development), Asia Pacific, LanzaTech in the presence of B.M. Bansal, Chairman, IndianOil and Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO, LanzaTech and senior executives of both the companies.
 sustainable bio-fuels needed: Bansal |
"IndianOil is always looking at innovative options in augmenting its energy resources to meet the growing demand of the Indian economy and LanzaTech technology is likely to support our efforts by harnessing fuel grade ethanol from waste gas stream for partly meeting the requirements for MS blends in the future", said B.M. Bansal, Indian, CMD, Indian Oil.
"We are determined to explore sustainable options in bio-fuels and the Ethanol blending efforts will have to be supplemented by technology solutions as well."
Dr. Holmgren, CEO, LanzaTech said, "our goal is to show that there will be improved profitability and an overall reduction of the carbon footprint in IndianOil refineries, also enabling it to comply with India's renewable fuel mandates."
She said that LanzaTech is pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with IndianOil to bring a new, indigenous resource into India's liquid transportation fuel pool.
LanzaTech is already collaborating on several international projects in the steel, coal and chemicals sectors and has expanded its portfolio to the production of low cost fuel ethanol from non-food renewable resources to include production of 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BD), a key building block used to make polymers, plastics and hydrocarbon fuels.
The Indian Government has a National Bio-fuels policy to increase the use of alternate renewable fuels produced from sustainable and non-food sources. It requires oil companies to blend up to 5% ethanol with Petrol, rising to 10% in the near future.
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