IOC to set up mega biorefineries in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: As part of its transition from fossil-fuels to a multi-source, clean energy play, public sector oil & gas giant, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), plans to set up two mega bio-refineries in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, a top IOC official has said.
These second generation (2G) bio-refineries, which will extract ethanol from agri-residue like wheat and paddy straw, are part of IOC’s plans to set up 12 bio-refineries across multiple states, including Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, IOC’s R&D director SSV Ramakumar said here on Wednesday.
The biorefineries will have a extract 5 lakh litres per day capacity and are slated to come up at an investment of Rs 600 crore each, IOC executive director & state head for Telangana and AP, RSS Rao said.
“It’s a week-old proposal. We have approached the Telangana government which has identified two parcels of land for the project. We are yet to approach the AP government,” Rao said, adding that the Telangana bio-refinery would definitely come up within 200 km of Hyderabad’s periphery.
The refineries will take at least 18 months to come up after IOC takes possession of land for the project, Rao said Meanwhile talking about IOC’s transition, Ramakumar said over the next 5-10 years, an IOC petrol station will no longer be a mere petrol pump but an energy pump where you can get not just the cleanest petrol and diesel, but also charge your EVs, swap EV batteries, get Hydrogen CNG, among others.