Toyota Kirloskar Motor Exchanges MoU With Indian Sugar Mills Association To Promote Ethanol

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) to create awareness and promote the use of ethanol as a sustainable biofuel in India. The MoU exchange took place in the gracious presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri. Yogi Adityanath ji, along with the other key Government officials and dignitaries, at an event that marked the 120 years of establishment of first Sugar Mill* in the state of Uttar Pradesh. From Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr. Sudeep S. Dalvi - Senior Vice President & Chief Communication Officer was present during this occasion. At the said event, TKM demonstrated its Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle along with an experiential drive.

ISMA, the interface between Indian Government and the Sugar Industry in the country is instrumental in production of ethanol and plays an important role, including enabling requisite ethanol fuel availability in the country. Through this MoU, TKM and ISMA aims to accelerate the adoption of ethanol as an indigenous alternate clean fuel, thereby contributing to our nation’s goal to lower its dependence on fossil fuels as well as its carbon footprints.

Being agriculture based and domestically produced fuel-source, higher use of ethanol will increase farmer incomes and create new jobs, thereby boosting the agrarian economy besides reducing the fossil fuel imports. The Government also recently launched second-generation technologies for producing ethanol from agricultural residues like Agriculture waste (parali), which is currently otherwise burnt.

The Government of India has been actively promoting the use of ethanol as a biofuel and has set an ambitious target to achieve 20% ethanol blending in gasoline by 2025. By 2025–2026, it is expected that 86 million barrels of gasoline will be replaced by 20% ethanol, saving India Rs. 30,000 crores in foreign exchange and reducing carbon emissions by 10 million tonnes. These benefits can be enhanced significantly with the advent of Flexi Fuel Vehicle technologies, which can flexibly use higher ethanol blends from 20% to 85%, given the enormous potential of ethanol production that exists beyond capacity for E20 blends.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Sudeep S. Dalvi, Senior Vice President & Chief Communication Officer of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “In our constant endeavor to promote the adoption of sustainable mobility solutions across regions, we at Toyota believe that it is crucial to amplify in-depth understanding about ways and means to combat carbon emissions, beyond providing technologically advanced solutions, while achieving goals of Carbon Neutrality.

Today, we are proud to collaborate with ISMA to popularize the use of ethanol being a clean and sustainable biofuel source, for the automotive industry in India. TKM is continuously studying various advanced powertrains that promote green technologies as well as energy self-reliance. The Flexi-fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle being an electrified technology combines the best of both the worlds - electrified as well as alternate fuel ethanol pathways. To elaborate, the electrified flexi fuel vehicle has both the flexi-fuel engine and electric powertrain, thereby will enable the demand creation for alternate fuel & electric vehicle parts manufacturing ecosystem. The FFV-SHEV technology enables better fuel efficiency with faster reduction of fossil fuel consumption & CO2 emissions.”

Expressing his thoughts on the MoU exchange, Mr. Aditya Jhunjhunwala, President of Indian Sugar Mills Association, said, “ISMA is delighted to collaborate with Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. on this significant initiative. We look forward to working together to enhance the Ethanol awareness and encourage its wider adoption as a fuel in India. Ethanol is a vital part of India's energy mix, and with this joint effort, we are hopeful to contribute better to the larger goal of achieving self-reliance in energy. This will go a long way in contributing to a cleaner, greener environment.”

Towards realising a carbon-neutral mobility society, TKM continues to emphasis the multiple energy pathway approach, wherein different electrified and alternative fuel technologies can provide choice for the customers to select the best low carbon solutions that have the greatest potential to achieve carbon neutrality at speed. In this regard, a Brazil-based study indicates that the ‘Well-to-Wheel’ carbon emission of Flexi-fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle in Brazil is 29 grams/km, which is the lowest globally.  Thus, promoting the use of ethanol as a substitute clean fuel in India through the adoption of Flexi-Fuel Vehicles and Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles remains one of the key focus areas to create a cleaner, more sustainable energy landscape in India.

*UP Sugar Industry - Member of Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association/UPSMA and Indian Sugar Mills Association/ISMA).