Praj bags contract from HPCL for 2G ethanol plant in UP

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) has issued a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to Pune-based Praj Industries Ltd. for their upcoming second generation (2G) biorefinery project located in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. The plant will have the production capacity of 100-klpd (kilolitres per day) of 2G ethanol, which will be made from rice straw. Praj’s scope for the project comprises license of proprietary technology and basic engineering design package.

The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 encourages build-up of 2G ethanol capacity while addressing the issue of farmer income, crop residue management and cleaner environment. It also expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of sugarcane juice, damaged food grains, rotten potatoes, corn and sugar beet.

The recently released sugar bailout package also aims to help improve liquidity of Indian sugar industry through interest subvention on soft loans for augmenting ethanol production capacity and zero liquid discharge solutions.

In addition, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently hiked the price of ethanol, used for blending in petrol to Rs. 43.70 per litre, as against the current Rs. 40.85 per litre. The CCEA also fixed ex-mill price of ethanol derived from B-heavy molasses and sugarcane juice at Rs. 47.49 per litre.

“As a front runner in the process solutions space, Praj will continue to provide environment-friendly solutions for a sustainable future. We remain confident that our technological prowess and strong customer relationships will help us leverage emerging opportunities and drive business growth,” Mr. Shishir Joshipura, CEO & MD, Praj Industries said, while speaking about the quarterly results of the company.