Sugar, grain lobbies next push for ethanol cook stoves as Iran war continues to squeeze LPG supplies | Mint

New Delhi: Ethanol lobby groups are pushing for ethanol-based cooktops in India as the country faces a disruption in domestic cooking gas supplies due to the ongoing West Asia war. Lobby groups Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and the Grain Ethanol Manufacturers Association (GEMA) have pitched a study to assess the technical feasibility, safety standards, and economic viability of ethanol-based cooking solutions in India, along with notifying ethanol as an approved cooking fuel in letters to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and petroleum and natural gas ministry. Mint has reviewed the correspondence. Such cookstoves are used in African countries such as Nigeria and Ethiopia and elsewhere in Brazil. The push by ISMA and GEMA comes in the backdrop of India’s ethanol makers also lobbying the government for higher ethanol blends in vehicle fuels and to find more use-cases for the country’s surplus ethanol production, as reported by Mint earlier. They have been seeking incentives for flex-fuel vehicles which run on very high ethanol blending, and higher procurement of ethanol by oil marketing companies. While ethanol makers have produced around 20 billion litres since the government's ethanol blending programme began in 2003, demand for ethanol has only been about 11 billion litres under the government's 20% ethanol fuel-blending mandate (E20), which earlier faced a consumer backlash over concerns of a dip in mileage. The lobby groups are of the view that ethanol cookstoves could be examined as a complementary option alongside liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for both domestic households and commercial establishments such as restaurants, street vendors, and institutional kitchens. Ethanol is made from two major sources: sugarcane and grain. ISMA represents the sugarcane-based ethanol making industry, while GEMA represents grain-based ethanol makers. ISMA in its 19 March communication to PMO said that ethanol-based cooktops emit significantly less greenhouse gases than LPG cooking and provide ease of storage and distribution even in remote areas. It added that a calibrated substitution of even about 20% ethanol-based cooking fuel can reduce India’s LPG demand by approximately 6 million tonnes (mt). India imported 20.66 million tonnes of LPG in FY25 to meet its domestic consumption of about 31.3 million tonnes, according to the government’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). In a separate 16 March communication to the PMO, GEMA called for a study on ethanol-based cookstoves to examine the technical feasibility, safety standards, and economic viability of such cooking solutions. Queries emailed to the PMO, petroleum and natural gas ministry, Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and Bharat Petroleum Corp on 22 March remained unanswered. GEMA president C.K. Jain said a diversified cooking fuel basket with a shift of even a portion of consumption to domestically produced fuels like ethanol can result in substantial foreign exchange savings. "Equally important is the strong linkage between ethanol and rural development as ethanol production uses agricultural residues, providing an alternative income to farmers,” he said. An expert said ethanol-based cookstoves are a feasible option for India. Bioethanol gels, formulated by mixing additives in bioethanol, are safer than liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and easier to transport, said Sanjuka Subudhi, associate director of microbial biofuels & biochemicals at think tank The Energy and Resources Institute, adding that they “offer 20-30% fuel efficiency”. These stoves can use multiple fuels like LPG and bioethanol. "Using bioethanol based cookstoves can contribute for clean cooking and health benefits by reducing indoor air pollution,” she added. “Ethanol emits less greenhouse gases compared to LPG, making it a cleaner alternative. But it is not the only alternative. For instance, biogas is another option,” Subudhi said. India's ethanol programme was launched with an aim to reduce the country's import of crude oil. Given that India imports nearly 90% of its crude requirement, even an increase of $1 per barrel for a year's period, would lead to a rise of around ?16,000 crore in the country's import bill. Talking on the US-Israel-Iran war on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Lok Sabha that ethanol production had helped reduce the country’s import bill. “In the past 10–11 years, unprecedented work has been done on ethanol production and blending. A decade ago, India had only about 1.5% ethanol blending capacity. Today, we are close to achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol. This has reduced oil imports by about 45 million barrels annually,” Modi said. A cooking gas supply squeeze has prompted the government to increase the mandated time period between two LPG cylinder bookings. The Centre has increased the mandated booking gap to 25 days in urban areas and 45 days in rural and remote areas since war broke out in West Asia on 28 February with US-Israel attacks on Iran. Tehran’s subsequent retaliation and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a fifth of all global oil trade, has crippled energy supplies to India, the world’s third largest buyer of crude oil.