India is likely to introduce a mandate for blending isobutanol with diesel as early as later this year, the Transport Ministry’s Secretary V. Umashankar says. Speaking at the CII Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Summit, he links the proposed blending requirement to improving energy security and supporting decarbonisation in the road and highways sector. Umashankar says diesel consumption in the country is about twice that of petrol, which makes the potential impact of blending significant.
He also states that Bharat Petroleum is conducting strategic research on isobutanol blending with diesel and that the results are “very encouraging.” According to Umashankar, this work is part of the basis for a blending mandate, which he says could be introduced later this year.
Separately, Umashankar says the ministry may issue a draft notification soon on truck-trailer interchangeability. He describes this as necessary to build an ecosystem that supports emerging technologies such as battery swapping and battery charging for electric heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Mint also notes related planning for hydrogen-powered buses in the broader transition of road transport.
