India's shift to biofuels will lead to energy security, says top PM advisor

NEW DELHI: India's shift towards alternative fuels, principally high-energy density biofuels such as methanol, ethanol and butanol is unavoidable, with work in advanced stages for sustainability and energy security, a top government advisor said.

"Ethanol is one hydrocarbon, but you can also get other biofuels which have higher energy density like butanol that can also be produced in a bio mode, so biofuels, in general, will be important for energy security," India's Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Sood told ET.

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Further, he said that India has already developed and transferred the technology for biodiesel and bio-jet fuel.

Last year, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR–IIP) in Dehradun developed homegrown technologies to produce biodiesel and bio-jet fuel from non-edible vegetable oils, waste oils, used cooking oil, and agricultural waste.

Currently, the institute has developed and transferred nearly 50 technologies for commercial-scale production, aiming to reduce carbon emissions.

"The another big thing will be green hydrogen. It will be used for transportation. We already have India's first hydrogen-powered train," Sood added.

On July 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged-off country's first hydrogen-driven train, operating on the 89-kilometer Jind-Sonipat route.

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The Indian Railways is planning to increase speed limit to upto 110 kmph, from the present 75 kmph. Country's first indigenous hydrogen fuel cell trainset has a total propulsion power of 2,400 kW from the onboard fuel cells, with no carbon dioxide output, having pure water vapor as the sole byproduct.

Sood also said that while focussing on sustainability, pricing for biofuels should be rationalised to boost adoption. The Centre, he said, had also unveiled a biogasification program.

In 2018, the NDA government launched the GOBARdhan Scheme or Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan, formally known as the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme. The Union Cabinet approved a revamp of this scheme in August this year, allocating a total outlay of ₹23,731 crore from FY 2026–27 to FY 2035–36.

In January 2026, India's non-fossil fuel energy capacity reached 271.97 GW, accounting for 52.3% of the country's total installed power, as a part of country's economic and environmental strategy for energy security.

Industry estimates suggest that by 2027 worldwide biofuel production is expected to supply 5.4% of the world's transportation fuels, including 1% of aviation fuel.