City-based My Eco Energy has said it will soon commence the domestic production of its non-petroleum based fuel Indizel from two manufacturing plants in Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The company is also looking to have as many 100 outlets across the country by March next year as part of its retail network expansion plans, My Eco Energy co-founder Santosh Verma said.
It claims to be the first domestic firm to produce and market bio-diesel made out of palm under the label of Indizel, which is made out of the basic palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD).
PFAD is waste of palm seeds and conforms to petroleum diesel (HSD) EN590 and BIS 1460 specifications for use with existing engines. The fuel, Verma claims, outperforms petroleum diesel in performance, emissions and price, among others and is Euro VI compliant,
"Till now, we were importing it from Singapore which has now been stopped. We are looking to start domestic production of the fuel from our Pipavav (Gujarat) and Dighi (Maharashtra) facilities soon," Verma said.
The trial for the local production at the two units have already commenced, he said.
The two facilities together have the capacity to produce 10,000 mt of the fuel per annum, he said, adding, "We also plan to have a third manufacturing unit gong forward".
By December, the company will have three plants manufacturing the bio-automotive automotive fuel to meet the market demand, he said.
Since this type of fuel meets the engine-maker's fuel quality standards like EN 590 (European), BS VI (Indian) and Euro 6 emission norms, it can be used in the vehicles without any limits as a stand-alone fuel and all the engine manufacturers extend the warranty on this the fuel as it meets the diesel standard, Verma claimed.
At present, the company has five fuel pumps functional across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Of the five, three are in Gujarat (Dwarka, Asoj Vadodra and Kamrej in Surat districts) and one each at Khalapur near Panvel and Pantapalem in Nellore district of Andra Pradresh, he said.
"By November, we will have as many as 43 fuel pumps operational and we expect to hit 100 outlets by March next year," Verma said.
In addition, the company is also looking at retailing the fuel through ration shops and neighbourhood stores in cans as the product does not need licence as it is not a petroleum product, according to Verma.
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