IEW 2025: India achieves 19% ethanol blending, on track for 2025 target: Modi

India has achieved 19% ethanol blending in gasoline and is on track to reach 20% blending ahead of the October target date, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during India Energy Week on Feb. 11

In his video message during the event's inaugural day, Modi mentioned ethanol as an example of how India is achieving certain energy transition goals ahead of their respective target dates.

Modi said achieving 19% gasoline blending has led to a "significant cut in CO2 emissions" in the country.

Modi's 19% blending mention is 1% higher than what the country achieved by the end of 2024, indicating a decent rate rise in one month.

Advancing the ethanol blending target is significant for India because ethanol has a promising outlook for contributing to the country's energy transition goals and alleviating its heavy reliance on oil imports.

India previously set 2030 as the year to achieve the 20% blending target but has brought the target forward in the last two years.

India has 500 million mt of sustainable feedstock to drive biofuels adoption in the country, Modi said.

Other than rising feedstocks, one factor driving ethanol supply in India is the growing share of ethanol procurement from India's state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs).

The OMCs are looking to boost fuel ethanol procurement by at least 40% during the current ethanol supply year, which started in November 2024 and will run through October 2025.

India could blend 9.8 billion liters of ethanol during 2024-25, up 38% from 2023-24, Nagaraj Meda, chairman of commodities risk firm TransGraph Consulting, said on the sidelines of the event.

For 2024-25, corn-based ethanol will continue to lead the blending program at 4.25 billion liters, followed by sugar-based ethanol at 3.4 billion liters, with the remainder being grain-based ethanol, he said. Corn is expected to remain the leading feedstock for the ethanol program for the next five years, Meda added.

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights data, India's fuel ethanol consumption is expected to reach 8.5 billion liters in 2025, about 12% higher than in 2024. Consumption is seen further rising by 25% in 2026 to 10 billion liters.