Compressed biogas powerful pathway to net zero: Maruti MD & CEO Takeuchi

Maruti Suzuki bets on compressed biogas as a key decarbonisation fuel, investing in nine CBG plants to support India's net-zero goals

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has identified compressed biogas (CBG) as a "powerful" pathway in helping India reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, and therefore, the company is doing "strategic investment" in setting up nine CBG plants, said its Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi on Thursday. 

CBG can be used in compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles without any modification as it is a methane-rich fuel with properties similar to CNG after purification and compression. 

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing & sales) at Maruti Suzuki India, had on June 1 said bookings for the company's CNG vehicles rose about 40 per cent after recent petrol and diesel price hikes, as consumers shifted towards lower running-cost alternatives amid the West Asia conflict. Maruti sold a record 78,000 CNG vehicles in May. 

 

Unlike CBG, which is produced domestically from agricultural and organic waste, the natural gas that feeds India's CNG network is increasingly import-dependent. In FY25, more than half of India's natural gas requirement was met through imports, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the oil ministry's data and statistics arm. 

Takeuchi, after launching India's first flex fuel car -- WagonR flex fuel variant -- in Delhi on Thursday, said: "To meet different needs of different customers in India and to use all possible technologies to reduce carbon, Maruti Suzuki is committed to a multi-pathway strategy, including EVs, strong hybrids, and CNG." 

Flex fuel refers to fuel containing at least 85 per cent ethanol blended with petrol. Vehicles designed to run on such blends are known as flexible-fuel vehicle (FFVs). 

Takeuchi said that if the "natural gas" in CNG is produced from biomass, it becomes "carbon negative". 

"So, we have identified CBG as a very powerful method for Carbon Net Zero. Therefore, we are making a strategic investment in CBG as a fuel option," he stated. 

"To start with, we have announced nine CBG plants out of which two are already operational," he added. 

A Deloitte study prepared for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) in August 2025 found that poor gas distribution infrastructure, lack of pipeline connectivity, feedstock shortages, high transport costs and regulatory delays remain the biggest roadblocks to scaling up CBG in India. 

India already has a large network of city gas infrastructure, with more than 307 geographical areas covered by city gas distribution (CGD) networks and over 8,000 CNG stations that can potentially dispense CBG. However, according to the study, many CBG plants are located in areas that are not connected to gas pipelines, making it difficult for producers (like Maruti) to supply fuel at scale. 

As a result, most CBG is currently transported by road in high-pressure cylinder cascades, which increases logistics costs, limits the distance over which the fuel can be transported economically. 

The study noted that expanding pipeline connectivity between CBG plants, city gas networks, CNG stations and major consumption centres would lower transportation costs and help accelerate the adoption of CBG across the country. 

To promote the CBG sector, the government launched the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative in 2018. 

Under the scheme, entrepreneurs, companies and cooperatives could set up CBG plants. Oil-marketing companies issued Letters of Intent and offered to buy the gas under long-term agreements, giving plant-owners an assured market. The gas purchased by these companies is then supplied through existing CNG and piped natural gas networks, allowing CBG to gradually replace a portion of conventional natural gas.