Pranav Birje | Senior Correspondent
Delhi, August 2024: As champions of sustainability, globally, Toyota is committed to Carbon Neutrality by 2050 and aims to achieve Net Zero Carbon in Manufacturing Operations by 2035 guided by Toyota Environmental Challenges 2050 (TEC 2050). Today, marking the World Biofuel Day, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reiterates its commitment to sustainable mobility. The company has been advancing greener mobility solutions with greater agility by introducing and supporting multiple clean technologies considering various factors such as the current energy mix, unique consumer needs, infrastructure readiness, and the Government’s diversified efforts towards becoming ‘Atma Nirbhar’ in energy by 2047.
India is the fastest growing large economy. The country’s fossil fuel consumption along with imports is also rising rapidly, wherein the crude oil imports during April 2024 rose to its third highest level on record. India, world’s third largest energy consumer imported 21.4 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil in April ’24 & total 232.5 million tonnes of imported crude oil in 2023-24 fiscal (Source: April 2024 PPAC Data). Due to a large increase in mobility needs, the transport sector, which currently accounts for about 50% of oil demand (Source: IEA 2021), will be the most significant contributor to this. The higher fossil fuel consumption is also bound to result in larger carbon emissions. Therefore, it is imperative to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels with utmost urgency.
Towards sustainable and greener future, transition to technologies that use cleaner energy such as electrification and alternate fuels (biofuel) is vital. Biofuels play a critical role in ensuring access to affordable and sustainable energy. This provides a big opportunity for India to tackle energy security concerns, boost economic growth and combat climate change by lowering carbon emissions.
India is well endowed with renewable energy, surplus sugar, food grains, and biomass which offers huge opportunities for a transition to a cleaner energy future, which is also indigenous. The abundantly available sugarcane, excess food grains, along with huge biomass waste can be used to produce ethanol that can substitute a significant amount of fossil fuel used by vehicles in the shortest possible time.
Additionally, India has big potential for ethanol production, making it an economically attractive alternative to fossil fuels and paving the way for a greener future, by using plant waste or residues like Parali through 2G technology which is otherwise burnt causing widespread pollution in northern parts of India. This has already started and can help derive economic value from waste & generate greater wealth for the agrarian economy by increasing farmer incomes and create new jobs. Further support such as research and development, favourable policy framework, etc., will enable uninterrupted supply of ethanol for the transportation sector.
Notably, in June 2024, ethanol blending with petrol reached 15.90% and cumulative ethanol blending during November 2023-June 2024 touched 13.0%. E20 is available at ‘14,611’ PSU (public sector undertaking) outlets as of June ’24 and is on track to achieve 20% blending by 2025. The implementation of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025-26 is expected to substitute 86 million barrels of gasoline, thereby leading to forex savings of over Rs. 30,000 crores for India, as well as likely reduction of more than 20 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions. E20 fuel will also reduce PM2.5 emissions by up to 14% as compared to petrol (Source: MoPNG). Given the huge potential of ethanol production that exists up to and beyond E20, these benefits can increase multi-fold with the introduction of Flexi Fuel Vehicle (FFV) technology, that can flexibly use higher ethanol blends from 20% and above, going up to 100%.
However, the challenge with Flex Fuel Vehicles is lower fuel efficiency of Ethanol due to its lower energy density. Globally to counter this challenge, Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV-SHEVs) are being introduced, as an advanced green technology that has both the flex fuel engine as well as an electric powertrain. Therefore, as in the case of a Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (SHEV), the use of the electric powertrain in combination with the flex fuel engine overcomes this challenge with enhanced fuel efficiency. Towards this, last year, TKM unveiled the prototype of World’s first BS6 Stage II Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle. This green vehicle technology has the lowest well-to-wheel carbon emissions, and a favourable policy support can establish strong traction with consumers, thereby make the mobility sustainable.
Mr. Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “Biofuel can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and yield environmental and economic benefits. In this context, Ethanol, as an indigenous and clean energy source, holds immense potential for India’s energy security and environmental goals. By significantly reducing fossil fuel consumption and cutting down on carbon emissions, ethanol not only supports our national agenda of carbon neutrality but also bolsters the agrarian economy by creating jobs and increasing farmer incomes. At TKM, we are making relentless efforts towards the future of sustainable mobility by adopting a multiple technology pathway approach which includes biofuel energy driven vehicle powertrains i.e., Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) and Flex Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (FFV-SHEV) technology.
As a frontrunner in electrified vehicle technology and a socially responsible corporate entity, TKM will persistently drive its endeavours and contribute to progressive innovations by disseminating sustainable technological advancements, thereby providing ‘Mobility for All’ and “Leaving No One Behind.”
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Promotes Holistic Approach to Clean and Green Vehicle Mobility on the ‘World Biofuel Day 2024’
