AP CM to lay stone for Rs. 270-cr bioethanol plant today

The grain-based zero liquid discharge plant spread across 200 acre holds a capacity of 200 kilo liters per day. It has committed an employment for over 100 direct and 400 indirect posts with support from the AP government's Industries Department

Visakhapatnam: Assago Industries, a biofuel producing company will launch work on its bioethanol plant being set up at a cost of Rs 270 crore near Rajahmundry on Friday.

The unit to come up at APIIC Industrial Park, Gummalladoddi (East Godavari) is a greenfield project. It will be a grain-based zero liquid discharge plant with a capacity of 200 kilo liters per day. The project proponent has committed employment for over 100 direct and 400 indirect posts with support from the AP government's Industries Department, APIIC and district officials.

Ethanol is considered as one of the green fuels that can be used as an alternative fuel solution for petrol. This not only reduces the tailpipe emission level of pollutants but brings flexibility as well. Various countries are promoting ethanol use in vehicles with several automakers manufacturing their vehicles with flex-fuel engines. This is apart from the economical value of bioethanol and lesser harm to the environment emanating thereof. This has prompted governments around the world to rethink their energy supply policies. As a true alternative fossil fuel and as renewable energy, bioethanol has also found a huge potential in India as well.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will take part in the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday at the project site. The company said the plant will be spread across 20 acres and equipped with state-of-the-art machinery. Assago Industries produce bioethanol through residual broken rice and grains procured locally from Andhra Pradesh. The project is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for India to reduce oil imports and achieve self-sufficiency with green fuel, the company stated.

Commenting on the project, Ashish Gurnani, Managing Director of Assago Industries said, "It's a proven fact that ethanol is going to be one of the most-preferred fuel alternatives. We are pleased to play a role in making Andhra Pradesh a leader in green renewable fuel with our investment and position the State as an alternative energy hub in the future. The project shall also indirectly benefit hundreds of farmers and the local community at large as surplus, residual, and spoiled food grains are used as feedstock."

Given that India is primarily an agricultural country and Andhra Pradesh is a State where agriculture is the backbone of the rural economy supporting the farmer community, there are always tonnes of leftover matter from the harvests. These residues can be leveraged into motor fuel ethanol creating additional revenues for farmers. Today, with infrastructure and technological advancements that we are equipped with it is time to apply the same to accelerate the production of bioethanol as a reliable fuel source. Andhra Pradesh is working towards accelerating utilisation of bioethanol as a fuel, he stated.

"It is estimated that one crore litre of ethanol blended petrol can save around 20,000 tonne of CO2 emission. Thereby in the last seven years, apart from lowering CO2 emissions by 192 lakh tonne, around Rs 26,509-crore cumulative foreign exchange saving has been achieved by India due to the usage of ethanol. We aim to further grow this impact manifold starting production in 2024 from this new plant," said Gurnani.