Honeywell first introduced its ETJ know-how in October 2022, highlighting that it could actually convert corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into aviation gas
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Dado Ruvic
US multinational Honeywell has licensed its bioethanol-to-jet gas (ETJ) know-how to an Indian firm. The settlement was signed a few month in the past, Ranjit Kulkarni, Vice President and Common Supervisor – Power and Sustainability Options, Honeywell India, instructed businessline on Tuesday.
The licensee is at the moment securing approvals, land, feedstock and offtake preparations. Kulkarni declined to call the corporate, saying he didn’t wish to “steal their thunder.” He added that Honeywell is in talks with a number of different potential licensees and hopes to signal “a couple of extra” by December.
Honeywell first introduced its ETJ know-how in October 2022, highlighting that it could actually convert corn-based, cellulosic, or sugar-based ethanol into aviation gas. The method was developed on the Honeywell India Know-how Heart in Gurugram.
Based on Kulkarni, the Indian licensee’s “giant, commercial-scale” ETJ plant is anticipated to go on stream in 2028. The timing is critical: India is without doubt one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, alongside the US and Brazil, and is near attaining 20 per cent ethanol mixing in petrol—extensively thought-about the higher technical restrict for present engines.
India’s sugar trade additionally produces extra sugar than the home market requires, offering scope to divert extra portions into ethanol. Within the sugar 12 months 2024-25, manufacturing was 3.4 million tonnes (mt), after diverting 340,000 tonnes for ethanol, towards home demand of two.8 mt . Ethanol demand for 2024-25 is estimated at round 1,000 crore litres, whereas put in manufacturing capability is double that. Aviation gas manufacturing from ethanol may due to this fact open up a worthwhile new market.
Bio-crude push
Kulkarni additionally mentioned that Honeywell lately introduced a brand new know-how for changing biomass into bio-crude, which could be additional refined into petrol, diesel or marine fuels. Any biomass—woodchips, paddy straw or different agricultural residue—could be processed by means of thermal pyrolysis to provide bio-crude. The ensuing fuels, he mentioned, could be extremely cost-competitive.
Plant sizes could be tailor-made to website necessities and would require investments within the “tens of crores.” Honeywell is in discussions with an Indian oil firm to license this know-how.
Revealed on December 10, 2025
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