Tata Motors event addresses sustainable fuels for Indian growth trajectory

Significant growth is expected in India’s power, automotive, aerospace and locomotive industries, which are all energy intensive and will result in the doubling of demand for petrol and diesel fuel, according to Gopichand Katragadda, group chief technology officer of Tata Sons in India.

Speaking at the recent International Conference on Sustainable Fuel for Internal Combustion (IC) engines in Emerging Nations organized by Tata Motors and The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India, he said, “the supply of traditional fuels will not keep up with demand. It is imperative to look at environmentally conscious ways of meeting the demands of development and provide a context for this timely conference on sustainable fuels.”

The conference is the first in a series of planned biennial conferences that will focus on the development of alternative fuels to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. India’s CO2 emissions are expected to be 60% of that of the United States by 2040, according to Tim Leverton, president and head, advanced and product engineering, Tata Motors. “We are delighted to be in the vanguard of the Sustainable Fuel movement that the country needs to embark upon.”

He added that the grand challenge is to find fuel or fuels that can be produced sustainably, at economically viable costs, at the volumes required to replace hydrocarbon fuels that can be used in conventional IC engines with minimal modification which could also meet or exceed emissions requirements.

R. K. Pachuri, director general of TERI, said that the rising use of IC engines in emerging economies, the growth of road transport in India as well as the air pollution in Indian cities all require “detailed assessment of the current situation and choices that India, as well as other emerging economies, has in setting directions for the future.”

Nitin Gadkari, honorable union cabinet minister of Road Transport, pointed out that India spends a lot on importing petroleum products, coal and gas. He emphasised the work that India has done in researching biofuels and bio-CNG, and referenced the importance of the Make in India program. Make in India is a national program designed with the goal of stimulating the manufacturing industry, which would, among other benefits, reduce the need to import.

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