Biofuels in India’s Commercial Trucking: Evolution or a Distant Dream? How Soon Will the Shift Happen?

The commercial trucking industry in India is the workhorse of the Indian supply chain carrying almost 60 percent of the freight in the country. This backbone is however operated largely on diesel, a fuel that is not only polluting but also expensive. As the world becomes focused on clean energy and climate actions following the Paris Agreement, the idea of biofuels has become a buzz in the green mobility debate in India. But the question is, is biofuel implementation on commercial trucking an evolution in progress or a far-fetched dream?

The Biofuels Promise

Biofuels, especially biodiesel and ethanol mixture, present a lower emission and renewable substitute to fossil fuel. The National Policy on Biofuels (2018) in India produced ambitious aims, such as 20 percent ethanol-mix in petrol by 2025 and increasing biodiesel utilization in transportation and industrial purposes. In the case of heavy-duty trucking, the use of biodiesel would decrease the reliance on imported diesel fuel, lower greenhouse emissions, and ensure that the nation achieves its targets on energy security.

Biofuel in the Indian Truck

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum are among the private players that have begun to put up biofuel outlets. At the same time, startups and agritech companies are trying alternative ways of producing biofuels out of waste products and non-edible oils, used cooking oil, and farm leftovers. The foundation looks good on paper.

Speed Bumps of Reality

Nonetheless, the use of biofuels is more of a policy dream rather than a common practice within the Indian trucking ecosystem. The major obstacles include the availability of engines compatible with biofuel, absence of infrastructure to supply biodiesel across the nation, and unreliable quality standards. In order to make the switch, many trucking fleet operators are waiting to have access, or they find it too expensive to modify their engines upfront as well as unknown long-term performance.

Besides, the decentralized nature of the transport sector in India where most fleet owners are small and truck owners are individuals hinders the even increase. These stakeholders mostly run on low budgets, with little knowledge or motivation to explore alternative fuels.

Policy Push and Practical Pull

The push factors as provided by the government are strong whereas the pull factors on the ground are low. The mandates will not guarantee the adoption unless the biofuels can be made economically feasible and logistically available. It is also apparent that there is little coordination between state and central agencies resulting in uneven rollout of incentives and awareness campaigns.

Even corporate fleet operators that can afford the capital and volume to take advantage of any new technology are only guardedly optimistic. Others are doing pilot projects, although a complete switch would need the existence of a reliable supply chain, standard prices and warranties by manufacturers.

How Soon Will the Shift Happen?

In reality, India is expected to take a gradual shift to biofuels in trucking. In the short term, the change can be spearheaded by the urban freight fleets or publicly supported carriers. But a more profound change on a national scale may still be 5 to 10 years away, unless it is driven by powerful policy enforcement, technological breakthroughs and attractive policy incentives.

Read Also: Zero Emission Trucks by IIT Madras

Conclusion

Biofuels in Indian commercial trucking are not a far pocket dream, nor is it an overnight revolution. It is a transition, and just as any change in a sophisticated, cost-conscious industry, it will take time, money and trust. Not only when, but also how steadily and sustainably the transition can be realized is the question.

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