In India, reports have surfaced in local media that the Indian Oil Corporation will acquire a 4% stake in LanzaTech for $20 million, in a transaction that values the #1 ranked company in the Hot 50 at $500 million. The investment will be made through the IOC Singapore Pte Ltd subsidiary.
Last July, we reported that IOC and LanzaTech signed a Statement of Intent to construct the world’s first refinery off gas-to-bioethanol production facility in India.
The basic engineering for the 40 million litres (35K MTA) per annum demonstration facility is underway for installation at IndianOil’s Panipat Refinery in Hayrana, India, at an estimated cost of 350 crore rupees (USD 55 million). It will be integrated into existing site infrastructure and will be LanzaTech’s first project capturing refinery off-gases. LanzaTech’s first commercial facility converting waste emissions from steel production to ethanol is in the process of coming online in China.
India is adopting a cleaner and greener economic growth pathway today, with the Government running one of the largest renewable capacity expansion programmes in the world. The implementation of the National Smart Grid Mission, along with new programmes for increasing energy capacities from wind and waste conversion, are key elements of this vision. This vision is inextricably linked to the principle of ‘need-based consumption’ which follows the need to maximise on existing resources and decarbonise everyday activities.
The potential impact of using off-gases from the refining sector in India is considerable. India would be able to produce 40-50 KMTA of ethanol per refinery while saving about 1 million tonnes of CO2 per annum. This is the equivalent emissions savings as taking 850,000 cars off the road in India each year.
