Big step in ethanol production, Grainspan sets up two plants in Gujarat, invests so many hundred crores
Benefiting from the interest subsidy scheme of the Union Food Ministry, Grainspan Nutrients has invested Rs 520 crore to set up two grain-based ethanol plants in Ahmedabad. Now the company is supplying green fuel to be mixed in petrol. Both these plants use maize and rice as raw material (feedstock) and have a total capacity of 350 kilolitres per day. Grainspan’s first ethanol plant started in May 2023 at Bhamsara village in Ahmedabad. It had a capacity of 110 kilolitres per day and was Gujarat’s first grain-based ethanol plant. After its success, the company started a second plant at the same place last month, costing Rs 360 crore and having a capacity of 240 kilolitres per day.
Three grain-based ethanol plants in Gujarat
The company supplies ethanol to petroleum marketing companies (OMCs) under the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP). Manoj Khandelwal, CEO, Grainspan Nutrients Pvt Ltd, said there are three grain-based ethanol plants in Gujarat, two of which are being run by Grainspan. He said that it was because of the subsidy from the central government that they were able to become the first company to set up such a plant in the state. He also said that there is a huge potential for ethanol production in India, which can not only meet the country’s needs but can also be exported. Grainspan, which has been working in the food products sector since 2014, ventured into the ethanol business a few years ago by taking advantage of the interest subsidy scheme. This decision helped the company to increase its turnover, which reached Rs 760 crore in the last financial year.
More income expected
Granspan Ingredients Pvt Ltd Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Pankit Shah said that the company has invested a total of Rs 520 crore in both the ethanol plants and they are fully operational. He said that the first plant was installed under the interest subsidy scheme of the Central Government and for this the company had taken a loan of Rs 120 crore. However, the second plant has been set up without any interest subsidy. He informed that in the 2024-25 Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) running from November to October, the company will supply about 8 crore liters of ethanol to petroleum companies (OMCs) at a fixed rate of about Rs 72 per liter. In the next supply year, this quantity will increase to 12 crore liters, from which the company expects to earn more than Rs 800 crore.
