Modi Naturals Ltd. has recently performed the groundbreaking ceremony (bhumi pujan) of its greenfield ethanol distillery at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The company is setting up a state-of-the-art distillery, which has a production capacity of 210 KLD, with a 6MW cogeneration power plant. To set-up this plant, Modi Naturals incorporated a 100 percent subsidiary (wholly owned subsidiary) called ‘Modi Biotech Private Limited’ (MBPL).
MBPL has received in-principle approval for a 210 KLD distillery for the manufacture of ethanol from the Central Government, along with signing an MOU with the Chhattisgarh Government for the same. The company has already received environment clearance (EC) for the project from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEF&CC). The investment over the next two years is expected to be approximately INR 250 crore, with the first phase of 110 KLD with an investment of INR 160cr, to be completed in the third quarter of FY 2022-23.
This project is also in line with the PM Modi’s vision & roadmap for the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program with a target of 20% blending by 2025.
Commenting on this announcement, Akshay Modi, Managing Director, Modi Naturals Ltd. said, “This significant development is a step forward to boost the Ethanol ecosystem of India. With this new ethanol plant, we will be able to counter serious challenges related with vehicle emissions, air-quality improvement, lower consumer fuel prices, reduce the use of damaged food grains, increase farmers’ incomes, spur employment generation, and lead to greater investment opportunities.”
According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), India will become the third-largest market for ethanol in the world after the US and Brazil by 2026. Some of the driving factors include – government policies, overall transport fuel demand, costs and specific policy design, etc.