India’s NTPC sets sights on SAF production amid diversification push

Indian state-run power generation company NTPC is planning to invest $50bn over the next decade to develop a portfolio of clean energy projects, according to local media reports.

“There are major plans for methanol, ethanol, green hydrogen for transportation and also sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), for which it is already in talks with some airlines,” the local media quoted people familiar with the matter.

Reports claim that the India’s largest power producer may look to set up annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes of SAF at Pudimadaka in the Northeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.

SAF has picked up pace in India with government looking into putting regulations in place to develop a local production base. India is currently mulling plans to set an indicative target of 1% SAF by 2027 while doubling it to 2% by 2028.

In the meanwhile, Indian energy conglomerates such a the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd are pursuing SAF production through research and joint partnership with technology providers.

Indian biofuel technology GPS Renewables recently announced it has partnered with SAF One to develop SAF production plants in India. The partners aim to develop a SAF production capacity of 20-30m litres using lignocellulosic waste feedstock (dry plant matter) as feedstock in India.

Moreover, earlier in January 2024, Indian Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated Praj Industries’ SAF demonstration facility at its R&D Center in Pune. Praj announced that the company has developed a proprietary technology to process agricultural feedstocks for the production of SAF that can be blended with aviation turbine fuel.

NTPC is India’s largest power utility with a total installed capacity of 76,048 MW (including JVs). Established in 1975, NTPC is targeting to become a 130 GW firm by 2032.