India in talks with Brazil for tech partnership to expand ethanol usage

India is in talks with Brazil for a technological partnership to expand usage of ethanol, amid a push for alternative fuels to cut carbon emission.

Brazil has been using ethanol for a very long time in vehicles and there is a lot to learn from the South American nation, Union Minister V K Singh said on Tuesday.

"We can learn from them (Brazil) and collaborate with them to ensure that we also develop an ecosystem for ethanol and such alcohol-based fuels," the Minister of State (MoS) for Road Transport and Highways said at the 'Assocham-Fuels of the Future 2.0' conference in the national capital.

He further said that there is a need for awareness on alternative fuels to replace fossil fuels. Beside sugarcane, ethanol can also be produced using broken rice, maize and corn.

"There is also a push on sustainable aviation fuel and we have conducted a trial of sustainable aviation fuels powered flight. The greatest challenge before us today is what alternative fuel we adopt and how we can bring about a change in mindset towards alternative fuels," said Singh who is also the minister of state for civil aviation.

Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, Ambassador, Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil, said the launch of Global BioFuel Alliance during India's G20 presidency is indeed a groundbreaking endeavour in clean energy.

"It heralds the beginning of a new phase, one that will consolidate bio-fuel technology as an important option for decarbonisation of our economies. The Brazilian Presidency of the G20 will push forward the implementation of the GBA," the ambassador said.

"Brazil and India have been developing technological dialogue on ethanol for three years...we will further develop this partnership, this technological partnership and try to find new partners so that bio-fuel ethanol can be used in a larger number of countries and become a larger commodity. Brazil is ready to share its technology and its experience with India," he told PTI.

On government's green hydrogen mission, Singh said the mission is doing extremely well in terms of ensuring that green hydrogen becomes a fuel for running various type of vehicles.