The Society of Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) organized a virtual webinar on November 13, which focussed on the automobile industry’s goal towards reducing carbon emissions, renewable energy, cleaner fuels and other related issues. Industry experts from automotive sector shared their views on the policies, regulatory and legislative framework around sustainable and alternative fuels.
Appreciating the role of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in bringing forward a platform for the industry experts to exchange knowledge, Sunil Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting the idea of a self reliant nation through the use of sustainable energy resources".
He said the ministry is rigorously working to reduce non-renewable fuel usage, import dependency and switch towards locally available renewable sources of energy. Both the government and the industry should commit towards decarbonisation.
Kumar said "Our country is expecting to have 20 percent ethanol blended fuel from 2025, increased number of CNG stations to 10,000 by 2030.” He urged every state to use CNG/LNG as a priority fuel.
Talking about the E-Amrit portal launched at the COP26 conference, Neeraj Sinha, Advisor, Niti Ayog, said, “Concerns about the increasing carbon emissions in the road transportation sector are being raised across the world".
He said the Prime Minister recently launched the National Hydrogen Mission which encourages us to look into the climatic impact of alternative fuels. We should focus on the policies to achieve our goals, the E-Amrit will provide all the information on topics such as decarbonisation.”
Prashant K Banarjee, Executive Director, SIAM, welcoming the gathering, said the usage of low carbon and renewable fuels; the promotion of gaseous fuels, ethanol and electrical energy; achieving decarbonisation via integrating Environmental Sustainable Goals, will be the roadmap to for fuels.
The roadmap is supposed to contemplate net zero carbon emission targeted for 2070. He spoke about some current technological innovations for minimizing the tailpipe emissions.
Sharing an overview of the Roadmap for fuels in automotive sector, Mr R Ramaprabhu, Chairman, SIAM (Fuel Subgroup), Head Fluids Technology (PTD) Mahindra&Mahindra Ltd talked about the status of sustainable fuels in India, while underlining the perspectives, challenges and opportunities related to Ethanol technology.
Pascal Mast, Director-New Technologies and Sustainable Services, (TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH) and Dr Thomas Weiss, Manager-Hydrogen Services, (TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH), shared their views on general safety and day-to-day usage aspects of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
With such an informative and provocative session, the lecture series concluded with beneficial exchange of information and ideas, with rich insights, best practices and strategies in sustainable energy.
SIAM is working towards the sustainable development of the Indian Automobile Industry, with a vision to make India the centre of design and manufacturing of automobiles.
