National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) plans to facilitate the establishment of 100 Compressed Biomethane Gas (CBG) plants in the country to popularise the production and use of sustainable fuel in automobiles.

The move turns significant in the backdrop petrol and gas supply disruptions and price increase triggered by ongoing geopolitical conflicts in the Gulf region. The CBG is not only seen as an import substitution to fossil fuels and compressed natural gas (CNG) but also enhances the income of farmers through dung sale, use of dung-based biogas to power vehicles and production of organic fertilizers.

“Our vision is to get at least 100 CBG plants set up initially so that we cover more and more dung coming to the biogas plants, use it productively for CBG, and the resultant slurry to produce the organic fertilizer”, says Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB.

In an interview with Fortune India, Shah said the initial success of a two year old joint initiative of NDDB, Suzuki R&D Center India (a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation) and Banas Dairy (part of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation which owns AMUL brand) formed the basis of the ‘100 CBG plant vision’.

“We first set up a centralised biogas plant in Banas, where in one location you collect 50-60 metric tonnes of dung. The same biogas, after production is further purified as you need at least 95% purity methane to produce compressed biogas. Once you remove the impurities, i.e., carbon dioxide and nitrous dioxide, you compress it, and the output is as good as your CNG. In fact, CBG is much more sustainable than electric vehicles. Therefore, for sustainability, going forward, this could be the best fuel," Shah says.

In September 2023, NDDB, Suzuki, and Banas Dairy entered into a tripartite agreement to setup four dung-based biogas plants for generating CBG in Banaskantha district of Gujarat.

The project envisaged Suzuki subsidiary providing financial assistance for establishing these plants by NDDB in the land provided by Banas Dairy, which will also operate these plants. While exclusive CBG stations will come up for vehicles, the slurry produced in the biogas plants will be utilised to produce organic fertilizers, thereby reducing the usage of chemical fertilizers, another import dependent product.

“We have set up three more plants in Banas of 100 metric tonne each capacity, and two more are under construction, to be ready soon, We have signed MoUs with everybody (dairy cooperatives), funding arrangements are made, and they will also set up CBG plants," Shah explained.