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

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).