Investment of ₹3,500 Crore Underway in Biofuel Production in Chhattisgarh

CBDA Organises Biofuel Expo and Seminar

Raipur, Nov 025 : The Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority (CBDA) organised the Biofuel and Bio-Energy Expo in the state capital Raipur from November 7 to 9 at the local Shriram Business Park. During the event, a seminar on the Chhattisgarh Biofuel Roadmap Vision 2024–29 was held, where detailed discussions took place on biofuel technologies.

Speaking about Chhattisgarh’s biofuel roadmap, CBDA CEO Sumit Sarkar said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, efforts are underway to transform Chhattisgarh into a leading state in the field of biofuels.

CEO Sumit Sarkar stated that private companies have committed investments of around ₹3,500 crore in biofuel production as per the Chhattisgarh Industrial Policy 2024–2030. OGMCs such as GAIL and BPCL have initiated the process of establishing eight MSW/biomass-based compressed biogas (CBG) plants in various urban local bodies. ONGC Green and HPCL Green are currently surveying multiple locations to set up CBG production units.

The state is conducting feedstock-based trials to produce bioethanol and compressed biogas using residues from rice, maize, and chickpeas. Additionally, enzyme production trials and the cultivation of new microbial strains are underway by using agricultural waste as substrate. He added that in the field of bio-aviation fuel, CBDA is preparing to produce biomass-based hydrogen, which will later be used to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through hydroprocessed esters and fatty acid technology.

Chhattisgarh has already developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for producing bioethanol using surplus rice as the primary feedstock. Recently, in collaboration with the National Sugar Institute (NSI), Kanpur, CBDA began trials for cultivating sugar beet as an alternative feedstock at the CBDA Biofuel Complex site located in Village Godhi, Durg district. The next step is to test its efficiency for ethanol production, which will support India’s 20% blending target and future goals, ensuring sustained progress of this initiative.

At the seminar, GAIL’s CGM Mohammad Najeeb Qureshi and DGM Jitendra Pandey provided information on the city gas distribution pipeline network in Chhattisgarh. BPCL DGM Sanjay Thakur gave a presentation on the prospects of compressed biogas in the state. Similarly, Reliance Industries DGM Sushil Verma explained the process of producing compressed biogas from paddy.

Dr. Vanitha Prasad, Founder Director of Revvy Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd., delivered insights on the operation of biogas plants. Rajesh Date, Director of AtriM Innovation Pvt. Ltd., Pune, spoke about anaerobic composting systems. Sukant Kumar Meher, Managing Director of Ingrotec Aqua Engineers Pvt. Ltd., Sambalpur, discussed the potential for producing compressed biogas from STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) facilities. Jitendra Narayan, CEO of AEC Agritech Pvt. Ltd., shared information on compressed biogas policy, procurement, and pricing.