Isobutanol diesel blending mandate in India may begin this year, MoRTH says

India was likely to mandate isobutanol blending with diesel as early as 2026. MoRTH Secretary V Umashankar said the step aimed to strengthen energy security. V Umashankar also linked it to lowering emissions from road transport. V Umashankar spoke on Friday at the CII Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Summit.

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V Umashankar said the government treated diesel blending as a priority issue. V Umashankar said Bharat Petroleum was already doing research on isobutanol blending. V Umashankar described the findings as positive. "Blending of diesel has been looked into with great seriousness. Bharat Petroleum is already undertaking strategic research for isobutanol blending with diesel. And the results are very encouraging.It is quite likely that the blending mandate will start coming in somewhere later this year, he said.\"

Diesel blending mandate and energy security

V Umashankar said diesel use was almost double petrol consumption. V Umashankar said that made diesel blending more important for energy security. V Umashankar said the blending programme had expanded over the past 10-12 years. V Umashankar added the impact of diesel blending could exceed petrol blending.

India had already reached 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol. The ethanol came from biomass such as sugarcane, corn, or rice. The blend aimed to reduce crude oil imports. The policy also aimed to lower carbon emissions from fuel use. Officials presented it as a cleaner-burning option.

E85 and E100 ethanol blends in vehicle rules

V Umashankar said the ministry issued a draft notification for E85 and E100. E85 meant 85 per cent ethanol with petrol. E100 allowed vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol. V Umashankar said these changes related to vehicle manufacturing requirements. The ministry also proposed emission rule amendments for higher blends.

V Umashankar said E20 blending raised some concerns at lower levels. V Umashankar said E85 and E100 were different due to vehicle design changes. V Umashankar said petrol pumps would need separate dispensers for E85 or E100. V Umashankar said normal blended petrol used a common dispenser at pumps.

Truck-trailer interchangeability for electric heavy duty commercial vehicles

V Umashankar said MoRTH may issue a draft notification on truck-trailer interchangeability soon. V Umashankar said it could support electric heavy duty commercial vehicles. V Umashankar said it addressed battery-swapping and battery charging limits. V Umashankar said the aim was to reduce downtime in freight operations.

\"If you have to look at battery swapping, then there will have to be several points which will have to be provided with this kind of infrastructure for swapping to happen. If you look at battery charging, then it is going to take a good amount of time for the charging to happen. So, does the truck lie idle at that point in time?So, what we are looking at is what we call a tractor-trailer interchangeability, he said.\"

Hydrogen logistics pilots and hydrogen refuelling stations

V Umashankar referred to government pilots in hydrogen logistics. V Umashankar said the results were positive and costs were comparable. V Umashankar said the main high-cost part was hydrogen refuelling stations. V Umashankar said the pilot projects received government support for this infrastructure.

V Umashankar said hydrogen buses started operating in Delhi public transport. V Umashankar said routes included Delhi to Faridabad and Delhi to Noida. V Umashankar also outlined corridor planning for refuelling. \"...the hydrogen refuelling station has already been supported and set up under this scheme. On fuelling, it travels 450 kms before it needs a refuel. So if you take Delhi-Mumbai as a corridor, then maybe three refuelling stations along the highway at the new expressway, the secretary said.\"

MLFF barrier-less tolling and advanced traffic management system

V Umashankar said Multi-Lane Free Flow MLFF was likely in the forthcoming year. MLFF was a barrier-less tolling system for smoother movement. V Umashankar said it reduced the need to stop or slow at toll plazas. V Umashankar said MLFF was already active at two plazas.

V Umashankar said a third MLFF toll plaza could start in 8-10 days. \"And the third one is likely to go live in the next 8-10 days. We plan to expand this to all the toll plazas, four-lane plus toll plazas across the country within the forthcoming year, Umashankar said.\" V Umashankar said Delhi NCR got the first advanced traffic system approval.

V Umashankar said bids and implementation for the Delhi NCR traffic project would start soon. V Umashankar said MoRTH also aimed to raise average road speeds. The focus was on expressways and access-controlled highways. V Umashankar said these roads helped separate slow and fast traffic on highways.

With inputs from PTI