With India achieving the E20 milestone and setting its sights on higher ethanol blending targets, the focus is shifting to ecosystem readiness-from vehicles to feedstock and pricing. Akshay Modi, MD, Modi Naturals Ltd and Board Member of Modi Biotech Pvt Ltd, while speaking with BioEnergy Times, outlines what it will take for India to move towards E30 and beyond, and how the industry is preparing for the next phase of growth.
Below are the excerpts from the interview:
Q. Considering India moving towards increasing its ethanol blending target, do you think now is the time to go past E20? What will be the indicators that India is ready for E30?
Answer: I believe India has reached a very good milestone with E20, especially in such a short time. It’s a combination of policy clarity, a push, and the industry investing rapidly. However, going past E20 isn’t just a numbers game it must be grounded in readiness across the ecosystem. The feedstock, production capacity and the dispensing infrastructure are in place for E30 (and perhaps even more); the automobile industry needs to accept the challenge and help the nation find solutions to the problems posed by the geopolitical situation, by conducting testing and giving a go ahead for higher ethanol blends for the existing vehicle fleets.
Q. Is it essential for India to have Flex-Fuel Vehicles for increasing the penetration of ethanol? Why?
Answer: Yes. For higher blends such as E85 and E100, flex-fuel vehicles are a key enabler.
E20 can be absorbed within existing vehicle norms, but as we push towards E30 and beyond, flex-fuel removes hesitation regarding engine performance and long-term durability. It gives consumers confidence and provides the industry flexibility to manage supply variations across regions. So flex-fuel vehicles aren’t just OEM technology upgrades; they are infrastructure accelerators for ethanol usage. So having a combination of a base fuel E20 or E30 and a flex-fuel E85 or E100, would result in ethanol replacing petrol by up to 49% as in the case of Brazil.
Q. In light of crude oil price volatility, how do you foresee the future of ethanol pricing? Should ethanol have market-driven pricing?
Answer: Crude volatility underscores why ethanol is strategically valuable for India. It softens import dependency and contributes to energy stability. On pricing, the market should play a role, but we have to balance realism with national objectives. Ethanol pricing needs to reflect feedstock cost movements, farmers’ crop prices, energy input costs so producers can plan and invest. At the same time, because ethanol is part of India’s energy security strategy, pricing cannot be left to short-term fluctuations.
A balanced, formula-based approach linked to feedstock and energy costs will give both industry and policymakers the predictability they need.
Q. Is the ethanol sector ready to meet growing demand given feedstocks and capacity constraints?
Answer: The sector has scaled up impressively in recent years and many of us in the industry see this as a long-term structural shift, not a short-term cycle. Sufficient capacity already exists to meet E30 demand. However, capacity alone isn’t the full story. Long-term policy clarity is needed for the E30 and Flex Fuel roadmap so that the industry can scale up accordingly. We believe feedstock is available and, infact, can be made available even for flex fuel wherein grain will play a major role. There can be additional sowing of maize where large swathes of agricultural land remain barren or under utilized during Rabi and Zaid seasons, thereby not affecting the food basket either.
Q. How is Modi Biotech getting ready to meet the increased blending targets? Any expansion plans?
Answer: At Modi Biotech, we view ethanol as both a business opportunity and a contribution to India’s energy transition. We are strengthening our core operations, improving yields, enhancing process reliability, and ensuring consistent quality. On expansion, we are actively evaluating capacity additions that are commercially sensible and backed by secure raw material linkages. Growth, for us, is not just about scale, it’s about reliability and contributing steadily to India’s energy security goals.
Q. With government support for CBG, what are the main challenges to adoption, and how will the sector develop?
Answer: Compressed Biogas (CBG) has tremendous potential; it turns waste into clean, usable energy and aligns with sustainability goals. The challenges are practical: aggregating feedstock reliably at scale, establishing stable offtake agreements, and building the required infrastructure for compression and distribution such as piping. But this is a classic India success cycle initial hurdles, followed by systematic scale-up. In the next few years we will see stronger project execution, more participation from organized players, and better integration with gas distribution networks. CBG won’t explode overnight but its growth path is steady and logical.
