From dung to “green” fuel | India at full throttle on the path to bioenergy

(Barsana) Holy cows. Revered in India as the incarnation of Hindu divinities and symbol of the nurturing mother, they are promoted as agents of the energy transition by the government, determined to boost biogas production.

It is an understatement to say that Nakul Kumar Sardana is proud of his brand new factory in Barsana.

Firstly because it occupies “one of the holiest sites in the world”, proclaims the vice-president of the subsidiary of the Indian groups Adani and French TotalEnergies which built it.

A four-hour drive south of New Delhi, in the middle of fields bristling with the chimneys of artisanal brickworks, pilgrims flock to Barsana to honor the Hindu goddess Radha.

But above all, Mr. Sardana is proud, because his methanization plant is “the largest and most technologically advanced in the country”.

Its site was not chosen by chance, but as close as possible to its raw material.

“There are a million cows in the region […] their dung has been used (as fuel) for cooking for centuries,” recalls Nakul Kumar Sardana.

“We also find residues from rice cultivation here. Traditionally, farmers burn them, causing smoke and pollution,” he continues. “With this natural waste, we produce very high quality biogas and fertilizers. »

Biogas objective

Since March, a stream of tractors has filled the factory with dump trucks of dung and straw, emitting 10 tonnes of gas every day, transformed into fuel for vehicles or injected into the urban network, and 92 tonnes of 100% “green” fertilizers. .

Thirsty for gigawatts to fuel its economic growth, India has bet on biogas, a renewable energy, to accelerate its objectives of carbon neutrality – promised for 2070 – and energy independence.

The program launched in 2018 is ambitious: building 5,000 biogas plants in six years.

Despite generous subsidies and a state buyout guarantee, the project attracted little interest. Until the government imposes, from April 2025, the presence of at least 1% biogas in mixtures intended for automobile fuels and domestic uses.

The constraint has convinced major players in the sector such as multi-billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his juicy public contracts.

The former’s group, Reliance Industries, wants to build 55 factories before 2026.

” Opportunities ”

“This will increase the income of our farmers by making these food producers energy producers,” argued Mukesh Ambani recently, and “create 30,000 jobs.”

Its rival Adani wants to invest some 200 million dollars (186 million euros) in the sector in the next three to five years.

“The government wants to convert waste into wealth for the country, that’s good news,” enthuses Suresh Manglani, boss of Adani Total Gas Ltd. “We look forward to the many opportunities ahead. »

The International Energy Agency (IEA) confirms these attractive prospects and makes China and India the spearheads of the global bioenergy market, considered as solutions to global warming.

That of India is expected to increase by 88% by 2030, she predicts in a recent report.

But the contribution of biogas to the effort undertaken by the most populous country on the planet for its energy transition should remain anecdotal.

To reduce its dependence on coal – almost 70% of its electricity – the third polluter on the planet wants to increase the share of gas from 6 to 15% of its energy “mix” by 2030.

But the majority will come from not very “green” imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Adani and TotalEnergies have just inaugurated a giant port terminal in Dharma to accommodate them.

“A niche”

Burning gas to produce electricity or heat releases emissions into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming, but less than coal and oil.

TotalEnergies does not hide it, its interest in Indian biogas is more about environmental responsibility and proof of friendship than commercial opportunity.

“Biogas goes beyond figures and business plans,” notes Sangkaran Ratnam, the boss of the French group in India, “it has a huge impact on rural communities in terms of employment, the environment, alternative income”.

“It’s certainly an interesting sector,” he adds, “but a small sector.”

“Biogas is a niche in the entire market,” confirms Tejpreet Chopra, boss of the company Bharat Light and Power, specializing in renewable energies.

“The potential is enormous, the impact on the environment significant […]but the sector is hampered by supply problems (in raw materials)”, he describes, “it is difficult to sign a twenty-year contract with a farmer”.

In addition, the investments are heavy: the Barsana factory cost 25 million dollars. And the price of biogas remains uncompetitive: 14 dollars per cubic meter compared to 6 for LNG, even though it is transported from very far away by boat.

But Nakul Kumar Sardana remains convinced of the relevance of biogas. “We are no longer wasting energy,” he argues, “we are creating jobs and contributing to a better environment.”