“Indianoil Is Firmly Committed To Achieving Net Zero Operational Emissions By 2046”

IndianOil has been expanding into renewables. Please give a snapshot of your overall portfolio, including solar, wind and hybrid portfolio. 

At present, IndianOil has a renewable energy portfolio of 249 MW, comprising of 168 MW from wind and about 81 MW from solar. We have successfully solarised over 32,000 retail outlets, achieving a cumulative installed capacity of 167 MW. 

We are expanding this portfolio by an additional 1 GW. Additionally, in partnership with NTPC, we have plans to utilise nearly 650 MW of round-the-clock (installed capacity of 1.8 GW) renewable capacity to support the energy needs of our expanding refinery operations. 

We plan to scale up our renewable capacity to nearly 31 GW by the next decade. Renewable assets remain a core part of our strategy to mitigate emissions in line with our operational Net Zero 2046 commitment.   

IndianOil has set a Net Zero target by 2046. What will be the important milestones in the process?  

IndianOil is firmly committed to achieving Net Zero operational emissions by 2046, wherein we plan to make an investment of over Rs. 2.4 lakh crore in the implementation of various low-carbon initiatives. Also, we are expanding our renewable portfolio to meet the captive demand while catering to other market segments. 

On the operational front, we have drafted an action plan for Net Zero  operational emissions, which are envisaged to reach 40 MMTCO2e by the end of the decade. Measures such as energy efficiency and conservation; fuel switch to Natural Gas; using Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) to replace natural gas; Green Hydrogen from electrolyser and biogas routes; improvement in boiler / furnace efficiency; nature-based solutions (NBS); carbon capture, utilisation & storage (CCUS), among others, have been identified to reduce emissions. 

How are your green hydrogen plans shaping up? 

The future of hydrogen, especially green hydrogen, in India is promising. IndianOil is making substantial strides in this area, having formed a Joint Venture (JV) with ReNew Power and L&T to set up green hydrogen plants. We have also signed a binding term agreement with L&T to build domestic capacities for electrolyser production. A notable project underway is our 10 KTPA pilot green hydrogen plant at the Panipat refinery, which involves a significant investment of Rs 2,500 crore. 

We are also keenly focused on improving green hydrogen mobility. In September 2023, we launched green hydrogen fuel cell buses in Delhi, which are fuelled by hydrogen produced at our R&D Centre in Faridabad. We have also partnered with the Indian Army and Indian Navy, showcasing the operational readiness of green hydrogen fuel cell buses in heavy-duty segment of e-mobility in the defence sector. 

In pursuit of strengthening the energy transition pathway, we are also collaborating with Italy’s Snam SpA to explore the possibility of converting the existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transportation. 

We are also setting up hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure through multiple hydrogen production pathways, like CBG, hydrogen, biomass gasification, etc. I think green hydrogen offers immense potential to usher in a new era of sustainable transportation in the country. 

How is IndianOil working to minimise its water footprint? 

IndianOil has been at the forefront in water management. IndianOil’s water footprint for FY 2023-24 was 149.59 billion litres, of which nearly 28% of the company’s total water requirement i.e 41.6 billion litres, was met through recycled wastewater. We have actively implemented rainwater harvesting systems across our locations, with the systems covering a total catchment area of more than 2,900 hectares and harvesting 7.24 billion litres of rainwater in FY 2023-24. 

To minimise our water footprint, we have implemented innovative water management practices at our refineries. For instance, our Mathura refinery uses water from a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) that was set up through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model at Laxmi Nagar in Mathura city. This initiative has resulted in reduced river water demand. Similar initiatives are being replicated at our Gujarat refinery, which uses treated wastewater supplied from the STP of Vadodara Municipal Corporation. On similar lines, Haldia Refinery has also entered into an agreement with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust, Kolkata, for reutilization of treated wastewater from the Sewage Treatment Plant, which is likely to be commissioned by next year. 

As an energy giant, how is IndianOil steering India’s green ambitions? 

Our strategic investments and initiatives in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and biofuels are aligned with the Government of India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Swachha Bharat Mission, Import Reduction and Circular Economy. We have also set our sights on becoming the nation’s leading energiser, with an aim to fulfil 12.5% of India’s energy needs by 2050, up from the current 9%. 

We were the first OMC to market CBG under the ‘SATAT’ (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme through our brand IndiGreen. Presently, 33 CBG plants have been commissioned under SATAT, and the CBG produced is being marketed through 95 retail outlets across the nation. There has been over 40% growth in CBG sales in the past year, which demonstrates customer confidence in the product. Towards our green commitment, we have set up CBG plants in Gorakhpur based on paddy straw and in Jaipur and Gwalior based on cattle dung. Additionally, to enhance biogas production in the country, we are setting up 30 CBG plants through our JV partners. 

There is a major reduction in soil organic carbon in India, which is reducing the water retention capabilities of soil and increasing the use of chemical fertilisers. At our R&D Centre, we have developed Agri-Elite technology for enrichment and stabilisation of solid and liquid fermented organic manures, which restores soil organic carbon and increases yield. We are carrying out extensive field trials with various agricultural universities to further demonstrate the effectiveness of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM) for farmers. 

IndianOil is promoting the blending of ethanol in petrol as per the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP Programme) of the Government of India and we have achieved over 15% blending. To further increase ethanol blending, we have set up Asia’s first 2G Ethanol Plant based on paddy straw feedstock at Panipat (Haryana), processing about 220 TMT / annum of paddy straw to produce 3 crore litres per annum of ethanol, leading to a reduction of about 3 lakh metric tonnes of GHG emissions. We have also set up a 3G ethanol plant, which will produce about 130 KLPD ethanol from refinery off-gases, making it a carbon capture and utilisation project. 

We are also setting-up a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant based on LanzaJet Inc.’s cutting-edge Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) technology aiming to produce ten crore litres of SAF annually.