NIIST sets up dedicated facility for sustainable energy technologies

NITI Aayog Member emphasise the role of innovative biofuel technologies in achieving the target of 20% ethanol-mixed fuels for transportation The focus should be on scaling up the production of second generation (2G) ethanol while bringing down costs

The CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) has set up a dedicated facility for research and development (R&D) in sustainable energy technologies.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET) has the mandate of strengthening ongoing activities at NIIST in the energy sector and nurturing new research areas, NIIST officials said.

Inaugurating CSET in virtual mode on Friday(July 28), NITI Aayog Member V.K. Saraswat emphasised the role of innovative biofuel technologies in achieving the target of 20% ethanol-mixed fuels for transportation. The focus should be on scaling up the production of second generation (2G) ethanol while bringing down production costs, he said. ‘‘Today, first generation (1G) ethanol is being procured at ₹65 per kg whereas the cost of 2G ethanol ranges between ₹120 and ₹ 130 per kg. This difference has to be reduced,’‘ he said.

India’s ethanol production had shot up from 38 crore litres in 2013-14 to 173 crore litres in 2019-20. The current production capacity of ethanol is 684 crore litres, which must rise to 1,500 crore litres by 2025-26, he said.

Dr. Saraswat urged the research community to focus on cleaner technologies for a carbon neutral economy. ‘‘The country’s energy demand has tripled over the past three decades and is marked by a falling share of traditional biomass, leaving coal and oil in a dominant position,’‘ Dr. Saraswat said. In a business as usual (BAU) scenario, electricity demand in the country is projected to touch 5,651 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2047. Coal will play a dominant role and its share in primary energy will remain at 50% in 2047. Combined with this scenario, the country’s import burden of fossil fuels shows why it should shift to cleaner, alternative fuels, he said.

N. Kalaiselvi, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said CSIR can play a pivotal role in shaping the energy transition pathway for the country.

NIIST Director C. Anandharamakrishnan stressed the need to move from 1G bioethanol to the 2G variant as the latter does not disrupt the food supply chain. ‘‘For 2G ethanol whatever waste is produced from agro processing also can be converted as bioethanol,’‘ he pointed out.