Quick Adoption in Construction & Mining: L&T, Komatsu Looking for Steady Biodiesel Supply

by Indronil Roychowdhury (Financial Express) India’s target for biodiesel production was 200 million litre in 2021, Garg said. But a steady supply of biodiesel conforming to global standards required for heavy off-highway machines was currently a challenge as only a few sellers operated in the segment, he added.

Komatsu has launched four new environment-friendly, B20 ( 20% biodiesel) biodiesel ready, hydraulic excavators, which it is looking to deploy as much as possible.

Arvind K Garg, executive vice president and head, L&T Construction Mining Machinery , said sustainable technology is the focus at L&T & Komatsu and these equipment will deliver the same power and productivity when operating on alternate fuels.

L&T, at present having a 30% market share in construction and mining machinery, has a tie-up with Komatsu to market and deploy their manufactured equipment. Garg said although the industrial and organised sector has made some progress in adopting biodiesel in India, it may be less than 0.25% of the total fuel consumed. It is mostly in the B20 category.

According to reports, oil marketing companies (IOC, HPCL, BPCL and others ) have increased their procurement from 1.1 crore litre during 2015-16 to 10.56 crore litre in 2019-20. But compared to developed countries, where corporates are organised and users are guided by OEMs and biodiesel companies with well-defined specifications, India is at a very early adoption stage.

India’s target for biodiesel production was 200 million litre in 2021, Garg said. But a steady supply of biodiesel conforming to global standards required for heavy off-highway machines was currently a challenge as only a few sellers operated in the segment, he added. READ MORE