The US grain industry is exploring ways to supply American maize to India’s growing ethanol market, advocating an assessment of the crop based on its life cycle carbon emissions rather than rejecting it primarily because it is imported or genetically modified, according to five people familiar with the discussions who spoke to HT.
The proposal was discussed at a day-long US-India biofuels summit in New Delhi on September 22, organised by the US Grains & BioProducts Council and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum. The event brought together industry representatives and policy stakeholders to examine opportunities in ethanol blending, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other applications of ethanol, Hindustan Times reported.
One of the summit sessions focused specifically on the “Lifecycle Assessment of Maize to Ethanol – India & US Case Studies”. Other topics included on-road ethanol blending in both countries, ethanol for cooking, sustainable marine fuels, the use of ethanol in consumer products and its contribution to rural economies.
According to people familiar with the discussions, US industry representatives are considering several potential entry points into the Indian market, including higher ethanol blends, SAF production and cooking fuel.
One person said the proposal involves continuing to use domestic feedstocks for India’s existing E20 programme while examining the potential use of US maize in higher blends such as E85, particularly in flex-fuel vehicles.
The central argument is that feedstocks should be assessed by their carbon intensity — the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing and using a fuel — rather than excluding American maize simply because of its origin or genetically modified status.
Focus on life cycle emissions
The life cycle assessment (LCA) approach highlights a difference between the ethanol policies followed by India and the US.
According to a person familiar with the discussions, the US system has increasingly focused on evaluating fuels according to their carbon intensity. India’s ethanol programme, by contrast, has largely been shaped by administered procurement prices, feedstock availability and blending requirements.
The US industry’s proposal seeks to bring carbon emissions into the discussion as India considers potential pathways for expanding ethanol use beyond its existing blending programme.
