PUNE: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated Praj’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demonstration facility at its R&D Center in the city recently. Praj has developed a proprietary technology to process agricultural feedstocks to produce SAF that can be blended with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
Dignitaries like Dr Pramod Chaudhari; Executive Chairman of Praj Industries, Shishir Joshipura; CEO & Managing Director of Praj, Ghanshyam Deshpande; President of Center of Excellence & Allied Technologies, Dr Pramod Kumbhar, Chief Technology Officer & President, of Praj Matrix and others were present on the occasion.
During the inauguration ceremony, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “This facility demonstrating indigenously developed technology for production of SAF is a testament to India’s rising prowess in the Global Bioeconomy. Utilization of Captive Agri-Resources to produce Biofuels such as SAF is aligned with the Government’s goals towards ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and will go a long way in helping India achieve its energy self-reliance by 2047. I compliment the visionary leadership of Dr. Pramod Chaudhari and Team Praj for this exciting development.”
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Pramod Chaudhari said, “Inauguration of SAF demonstration facility is yet another milestone in Praj’s pursuit of energy transition through Bioeconomy. Recently, we collaborated with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Air Asia India to successfully fly India’s first commercial passenger flight with 1% SAF produced at our bench scale setup that was blended with ATF. We truly believe in India’s potential to be a hub for supplying SAF for the Global Aviation Industry and we stand committed to helping build SAF production capacities. We thank Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for his continued guidance and encouragement.”
The hard-to-abate Aviation Industry is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels and an emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG). According to the India Brand Equity Foundation 2023 report, the Government has set a target to operationalize 1,000 UDAN routes and to revive 100 airports by 2024. Thus, India is the third-largest and fastest-growing civil aviation market in the world. The low-carbon SAF has a significant role in helping India achieve its net zero goal targets by 2070.
It may be noted that around 3% of all GHG emissions worldwide are currently attributable to aviation. Unless controlled, otherwise the emissions may zoom to as much as 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions from the aviation sector by 2050. Harnessing Sustainable Aviation Fuels is regarded as the most promising pathway for helping achieve this target.
 demonstration facility at its R&D Center in the city recently. Praj has developed a proprietary technology to process agricultural feedstocks to produce SAF that can be blended with Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).){kind=link}