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India gets serious about cellulosic ethanol: Special Biofuels Digest report

July 10, 2008

By Joelle Brink, special to Biofuels Digest

India is finally getting serious about the government’s commitment to cellulosic ethanol and other biomass fuels, and nothing shows this better than the increasing investment in Praj Industries, an India-based global engineering and biotech company specializing in cellulosic ethanol. Earlier this year, Tata Sons, the holding company of India’s largest business conglomerate, joined Vinod Khosla as a key investor in Praj, a move intended to facilitate cooperation between Tata Chemicals and Praj in sweet sorghum ethanol production.

Sweet sorghum is a drought-tolerant crop grown on marginal land in many dry areas of the world. From the Indian point of view, the key question about sweet sorghum as a biomass feedstock is whether it can provide additional income to dryland farmers without compromising their food security.

Tata Chemicals joined ICRISAT’s sweet sorghum ethanol research consortium in 2007, gaining access to the Institute’s sweet sorghum research base, along with its collection of hybrid and varietal seeds and its technical assistance with sweet sorghum cultivation. At the time, the company was already planning a pilot plant in Nanded, Maharashtra for production of bioethanol from sweet sorghum, and had contracted with Praj Industries for the technology and plant construction.

Tata Chemicals recently announced that if the pilot plant is successful it will ramp up production “in a big way”. The Nanded plant is scheduled to open in 2010. Tata is also exploring Jatropha biodiesel at 5 labs in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Praj now operates in 40 countries worldwide, including the US. The company was established in 1984 with the objective of providing new technology solutions to the distillery industry. In 1991 Praj established its Matrix research center, which currently holds seven international bioprocess engineering patents. At the same time, Praj launched a new environmental wastewater treatment business, followed two years later by a successful entry into the brewery industry.

In 1994 Praj went public with an IPO that was oversubscribed by 700%. More recently the company has ventured into biofuels with new ethanol technology capable of producing the same, or slightly better, energy content as gasoline. Last year Praj launched its new biodiesel technology business, including plant and equipment services, agricultural management, plant engineering, equipment, and project management. The company’s proprietary research base contains worldwide data on biomass feedstocks, including variations in feedstock composition by location, variety, mash characteristics and wastewater challenges.

On the Praj Industries website Vinod Khosla notes: “My involvement in Praj is primarily as an investor. However, at a strategic level it is more like a facilitator wherein we will enable Praj to realize its true potential as a global player in accessing newer markets.”

Read more about Praj Industries here.

Other Biofuels Digest special reports on India

Special Outlook report on India

Special India report: Lalu backs jatropha

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    Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under International 

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