Compressed Biogas (CBG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are emerging as major growth areas for city gas companies in India, according to Sanjeev Bhatia, Executive Director of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL). Speaking at the PHDCCI Global Summit on Sustainability 2025, Bhatia said both sectors are expected to grow significantly over the next five to ten years.
During a session focused on hard-to-abate sectors, Bhatia noted that while India aims to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix from 6.5% to 15% by 2030, domestic production is not keeping pace with growing demand. This gap, he explained, highlights the importance of alternative fuels like CBG.
“The government has already directed city gas distributors to invest in CBG plants. IGL has been assigned to establish at least 10 such facilities, with one plant in Narela, Delhi, scheduled to start operations by October. This facility will process municipal solid waste to produce four tonnes of gas per day,” Bhatia said.
Highlighting LNG’s potential in the transportation sector, Bhatia drew a comparison between India’s current fleet of 700 LNG-powered trucks and China’s six lakh. “Even a partial shift from diesel to LNG in heavy vehicles could reduce emissions by 30%,” he said.
To overcome the “chicken-and-egg” challenge between infrastructure development and vehicle adoption, Bhatia said IGL and other gas companies plan to set up 50 LNG stations along the golden quadrilateral. These efforts are being coupled with industry outreach to encourage cement, steel, and fertiliser companies to convert 10–20% of their fleets to LNG.
“CBG and LNG are natural progressions from CNG, and we expect both to become critical components of the clean energy ecosystem in the coming decade,” he added, while pointing out that hydrogen blending remains commercially unviable at present.
Also speaking at the summit, Ashish Khanna, Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), said India’s leadership in the solar sector is now globally recognised. “India is the only G20 nation to have achieved its 50% renewable energy capacity target ahead of schedule. With 116 GW of solar power already installed, this success is the result of strong political commitment, robust policy support, financial innovation, and a capable private sector,” he said.
Karthikeyan K, Vice President at Invest India, underscored the urgency of decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, and oil and gas. “Growth is inevitable, but the real challenge is in ensuring that growth doesn’t come at the cost of environmental degradation or social exclusion. We must focus on green manufacturing and decisive decarbonisation—not as ideals, but as necessities,” he said.
