IndianOil and LanzaTech recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration in a technology demonstration that will enable IndianOil to produce fuel grade ethanol.  The MoU was signed in New Delhi by Sharat Meshram, executive director (Petrochemicals) IndianOil and Prabhakar Nair, vice president (Business Development, Asia Pacific) LanzaTech, in the presence of IndianOil chairman B M Bansal and Jennifer Holmgren, chief executive, LanzaTech.

IndianOil will evaluate LanzaTech?s proprietary gas fermentation technology in one of its refineries to produce fuel grade ethanol.

 Bansal said IndianOil was looking at innovative options in augmenting its energy resources to meet the growing demand of the Indian economy.

"LanzaTech?s technology is likely to support our efforts by harnessing fuel grade ethanol from waste gas stream for partly meeting the requirements for MS blends in the future," Bansal said. "We are determined to explore sustainable options in biofuels and the ethanol blending efforts will have to be supplemented by technology solutions as well."

Holmgren said the collaboration will enable the parties to accelerate techno-economic and feasibility analyses.

"Our goal is to show that there will be improved profitability and an overall reduction of the carbon footprint in IndianOil refineries," Holmgren said. "It will also enable IndianOil to comply with that country?s renewable fuel mandates. We are pleased to collaborate with IndianOil to bring a new, indigenous resource into India?s liquid transportation fuel pool."

LanzaTech, which has key investment from Khosla Ventures, is already collaborating on several international projects in the steel, coal and chemicals sectors. It has expanded its portfolio from the production of fuel ethanol from non-food renewable resources to include production of 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BD), a building block used in polymers, plastics and hydrocarbon fuels.

India?s crude oil imports are expected to exceed 80% in a few years. India?s biofuels policy is to increase the use of alternate renewable fuels produced from sustainable, non-food sources and now requires oil companies to blend up to 5% ethanol with petrol.