“I’m hopeful government will take ethanol blending beyond 20%” – Susheel Kumar Kamboj, Shree Renuka Sugars
Controversy, criticism or political intimidation—the ethanol industry, particularly its young and ambitious leaders, appears determined not to lose the momentum built around India’s energy transition. Subhash Chandra Yadav of I Am Renew spoke with Susheel Kumar Kamboj, Managing Director & CEO of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, on the sidelines of the Indian Sugar & Bioenergy Conference organised by ISMA in New Delhi. As one of India’s leading sugar and ethanol producers, Sushil shared his views on India’s evolving bioenergy landscape, Shree Renuka Sugars’ current capacities & plans, and the debates shaping the country’s ethanol sector. Read more:
1. How do you view the current ethanol landscape in India, and what role do you see Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd playing in the country’s evolving bioenergy sector?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: We have been a sugar player. We have also been contributing in the ethanol sector. We continue to remain supporting the needs of the country including energy needs. So, as of now, I think ethanol has been one of the pillars which we have been working on. We have three ethanol plants and we have been providing and supporting with energy to the country.
2. What is Shree Renuka’s current ethanol production capacity, and are you satisfied with the existing capacity?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: Shree Renuka Sugars is at about 1,250 KLPD of ethanol capacity. But the problem in ethanol is the capacity utilization is not at full because we need raw material around the year, which is not so happening. We have sugarcane-based capacity. But there are those who make ethanol with both grain & sugar. Wherever both utilised, you can run at your full capacity. I think in sugar you can run on a limited capacity and the bigger question is that overall ethanol capacity utilization in the country is still at 50-60%.
3. There is raging debate over whether ethanol blending is safe for vehicle engines or not. Does this worry you?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: See, I think all these allegations are false. We are seeing ethanol experiment around the world. We go to a country like Brazil, where we see E-85 is running very well. So, in general all those allegations are not a big concern. I don’t buy to it because the technology has been proven over the years and government has implemented it over the years in India also from 2014 to now 2026. And they have been testing everything. So, there is enough evidence that there is no negative impact of ethanol on engines. In case there is something which needs improvement, I think we should keep improving it. But that should be needed beyond E20 and not at E20. E20 is comfortable. I don’t think there is any concern there.
4. Do you think the government will increase the blending mandate beyond E20 as there is some murmur in government corridors?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: It’s bit tricky. See, first of all we all need to understand, this noise is only on different social media points that ethanol is bad or sugar or grain are being diverted. We need to go by facts and figures. We must see that how much the ethanol blending program has supported the farmers, how much it has mattered for the GDP of the country and how much it is important for energy security of a country like India, which is growing and developing. I think we must go by facts and figures, and I am hopeful that government will take beyond E20.
5. The rising sugar and maize prices have raked up the ‘food vs fuel’ debate. So how do you see this?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: See, had you asked me this question 40 years ago, I would say ‘food.’ But when the country has enough and surplus food grains, I think now it is about balancing between food and energy. See, if you produce enough and you don’t have a market to sell, you have millions of farmers who would suffer. Would anyone like that? Ethanol program has impacted the economy of the country. You have to take care of every aspect of it.
6. Why the industry has not made stronger efforts to address or counter these controversies and debates?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: The industry has been talking about this. People often they that the ethanol makers will defend because it is their industry and their brand. What is good is that the experts and the scientific community is speaking about this. Many studies have been done on ethanol and people see the facts, figures and evidence. Even government institutions, including IIT, have done studies on this. If ethanol was bad, it would have crashed millions of vehicles in the country. But do you hear any noise? It’s just small noise here and there.
7. How do you plan to increase your ethanol productions or diversify business to new green molecules?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: Shree Renuka has to balance bioenergy with everything else. I think we have to balance both sugar and energy production. Our overall plan is to continue to have focus on ‘energy along with the food’ and that is what we are doing. We would help the government whatever is needed by the country that I will say openly. I think the first step for us is to see how we can have ethanol plants full utilization, which is not there at present.
8. As one of the young leaders in the ethanol industry, how do you see the sector evolving and creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs?
Susheel Kumar Kamboj: India is a country of young with more than 50% of population being youth. So you will see more and more youth joining the biofuels industry. That’s the general trend in the country and that’s good. But more than the question of young and old, I think it’s the blend of both which makes the things better for the industry.
