Emvolon has highlighted biomethanol as a potential pathway to unlock India’s large but underutilised biogas resources, linking rural feedstock supply with growing maritime demand for green fuels.

Citing International Energy Agency (IEA) data from 2025, the company noted that India’s sustainable biogas production potential is estimated at up to 90 billion cubic metres (cbm) per year, equivalent to around 120% of the country’s current natural gas demand. Despite this, installed compressed biogas (CBG) capacity remains below 1% of the identified potential.

Emvolon argues that the constraint is not feedstock availability. Crop residues, municipal waste and livestock manure together account for roughly 70% of India’s identified CBG potential. Instead, the company points to challenges around local conversion, distribution and monetisation.

According to Emvolon, converting biogas into biomethanol in distributed production units could address these barriers. Unlike CBG, which requires pipeline infrastructure or high-pressure transport, methanol is a liquid fuel that can be stored, handled and traded using established logistics systems.

The company highlighted developments at Deendayal Port Authority, formerly Kandla Port Trust, located on the Rotterdam–Singapore green shipping corridor. The port has initiated site work for India’s first 150 tonnes per day e-methanol plant in partnership with Assam Petrochemicals Limited and has also issued tenders for a port-integrated biomethanol production facility.

Emvolon said the port is positioning itself as a green-fuel bunkering hub, with offtake structures aimed at reducing producers' risk and stimulating demand from the maritime sector.

The company further noted that India’s biogas feedstock is distributed across more than 600,000 villages, making large centralised plants insufficient to capture the total supply. It proposes distributed biogas-to-biomethanol facilities located at landfills, agricultural clusters, food processing centres and wastewater treatment plants, feeding into a national biomethanol supply chain linked to ports.

“The infrastructure is being built. The policy mandate is in place (CBG blending obligations from FY2025-26). The shipping sector is asking for bio-methanol now,” the company said.

Emvolon argued that biomethanol can serve as the commercial bridge between rural biogas resources and international green fuel demand, particularly from shipping seeking scalable alternatives to conventional marine fuels.