India can emerge as global SAF export hub with low-carbon ethanol advantage: Triveni Engineering CEO

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd. India is positioning itself as a potential export hub for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by leveraging excess ethanol capacity and lower carbon intensity compared to rivals such as Brazil, according to CEO (Sugar Business) Sameer Sinha.

In an interview with PTI, Sinha outlined India’s competitive advantages in the emerging SAF market. Assuming policy clarity will emerge by the end of the current financial year, he predicted the first alcohol-to-jet SAF facilities could be operational by 2029. Until then, India will rely on limited production of SAF, with 1-2 per cent from used cooking oil for blending.

“India has a very significant potential to emerge as an export hub for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. From the East Coast, we can start exporting to Southeast Asian countries where Singapore is a major aviation hub. Similarly, from the West Coast, we can start exporting to countries like Dubai,” Sinha said.

Triveni is among 2-3 Indian companies exploring SAF manufacturing facilities, but no formal board bid has been submitted yet.

The company produces around 23-24 billion liters of ethanol annually, making it one of the largest producers in India.

India’s main strength lies in its significant ethanol surplus. Ethanol production capacity has been established for E30-E35 blending targets, but with current usage at the E20 level, sufficient feedstock is available for alternative applications.

“The first big benefit is the ethanol surplus. The capacity is already completed,” Sinha said. he explained. “India has the equivalent capacities to support the supply of E30, E35 ethanol, which means we are in an oversupply situation.”

More importantly, ethanol derived from Indian sugarcane has a lower carbon density than Brazilian ethanol. “If my CI number is lower than Brazil’s, the reduction in pollution will be much greater if I use Indian ethanol instead of Brazilian ethanol,” he said.

“If you look at the US, unless they import 2G ethanol from Brazil, it will be largely SAF from corn, where the carbon intensity will be very high. My Indian sugarcane ethanol has the lowest carbon intensity. That’s a huge advantage that we bring to the table.”

Establishing a SAF facility with a capacity of 80 tons per day requires approximately ₹Sinha said there is an investment of 1,400 crore and supply of 200 kg of ethanol per day and emphasized that policy support, including 100 per cent purchase guarantee, feasible pricing, viability gap financing and preferential pricing for first movers, is vital.

“The first alcohol-to-jet facility could appear in 2029. This big quantum leap will happen in 2029, when humans will be ready to produce SAF from ethanol,” he said.

The five-year SAF demand for international flights is estimated at 50-60 crore litres, requiring 120 crore liters of ethanol; This is a very small fraction of the current surplus.

“SAF does not buy a lot of ethanol. But the abundance of ethanol shows why India has this comparative advantage,” Sinha said.

The industry is faced with stranded assets built for higher blending at E20 but with ethanol capacity for current use.

Sinha advocated faster adoption of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and demanded GST cuts and state-level benefits in road tax and registration to match electric vehicles.

“FFV is the right way forward. Give them more appeal in terms of GST cuts, road tax and registration tax benefits,” he said, proposing a dual distribution system offering E20 and E100 options.

“FFVs have been there for a very long time in Brazil. They have been extremely successful and in India we believe this will be the right way to increase take-off.”

He also noted that up to 5 percent ethanol-diesel blends have been successfully tested. “Can we look at creating an ecosystem for the safe use of diesel blended with ethanol?”

On raw material availability, Sinha expressed confidence that the sugar industry will be able to supply around 500 crore liters even at demand levels of 900 crore litres, after accounting for drinking and industrial uses.

Currently, India’s total distillery capacity is around 1,900 crore litres, of which 900 crore liters come from sugar raw material and 1,000 crore liters from grain raw material. With 1,048 crore liters of ethanol contracted by OMCs in 2024-25 ESY (Ethanol Supply Year November-October) and 330 crore liters of ethanol for alternative uses, there is a surplus of 450+ crore liters of ethanol in the country.

Yields are expected to improve. Sugarcane yields are expected to increase from the current 75 tonnes per hectare to 85 tonnes over the next decade, while maize yields are expected to increase from 3.4-3.5 tonnes towards the global average of 6-7 tonnes per hectare.

However, Sinha emphasized the need for price adjustments. “If my input prices go up, there has to be a corresponding increase in the output price. Otherwise it becomes very unsustainable.”

Triveni was among the pioneers in establishing multi-feed distilleries, which enable flexible feedstock conversion between sugary raw materials such as cane syrup B or C heavy molasses and grains such as corn and rice.

“This has helped us maximize the utilization of our distillation assets,” Sinha said.

The company has secured approximately 80 percent of its contracts with public sector and private oil marketing companies for ESY 25-26 and expects to reach 100 percent capacity utilization when the second round of ethanol auctions is announced.

Sinha believes that India should leverage initiatives such as the Global Biofuels Alliance to showcase its leadership in biofuels and SAF is ideally placed for this role.

“With the country being a Corsia signatory, we believe that used edible oils with a very fragmented supply chain in an unorganized sector will not be able to take India beyond the one, two, three per cent figures. So, once the 5 per cent target comes into force from 2030, we believe that jet delivery of ethanol will really be the way to go,” he said.

Globally, especially in Europe and China, used cooking oil is used to make SAF, while others are turning to ethanol. The first SAF facility was commercialized in Atlanta, USA.

Highlighting the socio-economic benefits beyond environmental gains, Sinha said, “One of the differentiating factors of ethanol to jet is the benefit it provides to farmers in terms of rural welfare, it increases the farmer’s income.” he said.