At the Auto Expo 2023, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the US Grains Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support higher ethanol blending in India. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Vinod Aggarwal, President of SIAM, and Josh Miller, Chairman of USGC.

The United States Grains Council (USGC) is a non-profit organization based in the United States that works to expand ethanol export markets around the world. SIAM and USGC will collaborate to raise ethanol awareness, increase production capacity and efficiency, and advocate for widespread ethanol adoption.

SIAM President, Vinod Aggarwal stated, “SIAM highly appreciates the role and vision of the Council to develop long-term partnerships with Indian stakeholders, create opportunities and add value to the US- India trade relationship. The Council has had a presence in India for over 25 years and we look forward to working with the Council on the promotion and implementation of the government’s ethanol blending mandate.”

Ethanol is a clean, renewable fuel that benefits the environment, health, and economy. India met its target of supplying 10% ethanol-blended gasoline by June 2022, five months ahead of schedule, up from 0.67 percent blending in 2012.

The country plans to increase the blend to 20% by 2025-26, which will require an estimated 2.68 billion gallons or 10.15 billion litres of ethanol.

USGC Chairman Josh Miller said, “We congratulate the Indian Government for achieving the significant milestone of 10 percent ethanol blending ahead of schedule. We believe in collaboration and are constantly exploring opportunities to support India to achieve its next target of 20 percent blending by 2025.”

The Council has launched several initiatives and held a series of master classes to advocate for improved consumer education about ethanol-blended fuel. Another such initiative is the MOU with SIAM.

The MOU's goal is to establish a framework of cooperation covering scientific, technical, and policy aspects of sustainable and environmentally friendly ethanol production, blending, distribution, and marketing. This framework will assist in the development of not only national priorities, but also socioeconomic development strategies and goals.

The organizations will collaborate on key areas such as standards, regulations, and policy frameworks, blending and retailing, production and logistics, and automobile compatibility under this MOU.

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