US renewable fuels company Aemetis has completed the expansion of its biodiesel plant in India a year ahead of schedule. This resulted in an increase in production capacity to 60 million gallons/year (227 million liters/year).
The expansion will help meet the growing demand for biodiesel from government-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), the company said.
In Aemetis' Five-Year Plan, the company has set its goal to increase biodiesel production at the Kakinada plant from 50 million gallons/year to 100 million gallons/year by 2025.
Expansion of production capacity boosts Aemetis revenue in India
Additionally, the company plans to complete projects to increase biodiesel plant capacity to 80 million gallons/year in the next semester.
“The Kakinada plant has expanded production by completing upgrades to eliminate the plant bottleneck. The next phase will add more process equipment to increase capacity,” said Sanjeev Gupta, president, Aemetis International.
“When capacity reaches 100 million gallons/year, the India business could generate more than US$500 million/year in revenue,” he added.
Built by Aemetis near the port of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, it is India's largest biodiesel production unit, according to the company.
Increased production supported the Indian government's target of a 5% biodiesel blend. This is equivalent to approximately 1.25 billion gallons/year as set out in the country's 2022 National Biofuels Policy, Aemetis said.
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Aemetis is a renewable natural gas, renewable fuel and biochemicals company.
According to its website, the company operates production facilities with more than 110 million gallons/year of production capacity in the US and India.
Aemetis invests in sustainable fuel production in India to reduce dependence on oil imports
The company said it was expanding its production of low-carbon fuels with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel production facilities made from feedstocks including corn oil, biogas and local wood waste.
Aemetis said that although India consumed about 25 billion gallons/year of diesel, the country was dependent on imports of crude oil to fuel its oil refineries. This is due to limited domestic oil production.
The company said that the adoption of a 5% biodiesel blend target by the Indian government is expected to reduce oil imports, reducing export dollars for the purchase of crude oil, strengthening domestic agricultural producers and processors, as it will stimulate the production of raw materials for biodiesel, generating jobs and development in the rural sector.
Source: Oils & Fats International
