US-headed Aemetis, Inc., a diversified international renewable natural gas and biofuels company, has announced that the company’s subsidiary in India, Universal Biofuels Pvt Ltd, received multiple orders for an aggregate of US$31 million for the delivery during May, June and July of more than 33,000 kiloliters of biodiesel to the three government-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
Additional OMC orders are expected throughout the year to continue shipments to fuel blending terminals, supporting the Indian government’s goal of increasing the biodiesel blend from 1 percent to 5 percent.
Universal Biofuels completed US$112 million of biodiesel and glycerine shipments in the twelve months ended September 2024, including deliveries to the three government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) under a cost-plus contract.
The shipments of biodiesel to OMCs are expected to begin in early May under the next round of biodiesel contracts.
Universal Biofuels and other biodiesel producers look forward to continuous support from the government of India to ensure that climate issues are addressed, while ensuring a healthy biodiesel industry, stated Sanjeev Duggal, CEO of Universal Biofuels.
Completed capacity expansion
Aemetis’ Universal Biofuels subsidiary is one of the largest biodiesel producers in India, having been in operation for more than 17 years.
Universal Biofuels increased annual biodiesel capacity from 50 million (US) gallons (≈ 189.3 million litres) to 80 million gallons (≈ 303 million litres) last year, with further biodiesel expansion to other locations and diversification into biogas production planned for 2025.
The company significantly expanded the production capacity of the Kakinada biodiesel plant to 80 million gallons (≈ 303 million litres) per annum during a recent plant upgrade and maintenance cycle, including expansion of its proprietary process that produces biodiesel from waste and byproducts that Universal utilizes to produce biofuels that are lower carbon intensity at a significantly reduced cost.
We are pleased with the progress being made in India in support of the 5% biodiesel blending target of more than 1.2 billion gallons per year. The OMCs did not take deliveries during this past winter and instead decided to issue new orders for biodiesel with deliveries from May to July. Our Universal Biofuels subsidiary has successfully completed deliveries under contracts with the OMCs for the past several years, highlighting our track record for producing and timely delivering high-quality renewable fuels at our India plant, said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
To support further growth, Universal Biofuels is preparing for an IPO in India, which is expected to be completed in late 2025, subject to continued favorable stock market conditions.
New 30 percent ethanol blend target
Recently, India achieved a 20 percent ethanol blend into gasoline, and the Government stated a new 30 percent blend target for ethanol, enabling further growth in ethanol production and expanding revenues for farmers while reducing the importation of petroleum gasoline into India.
