India Energy Week 2023: Showcasing India's Rising Prowess as an Energy Transition Powerhouse

Aimed to showcase India's rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse, India Energy Week 2023 was organized from 6-8 February 2023 in Bengaluru during India’s G20 Presidency, under the tagline ‘Growth, Collaboration, Transition’. The 3-day event was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 6 February in the presence of Minister of Petroleum Shri Hardeep S. Puri, Governor of Karnataka Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Rameshwar Teli and other dignitaries.

As part of the event, Prime Minister Modi launched E20 fuel (a blend of 20% ethanol with petrol) and flagged off a green mobility rally to spread awareness for green fuels. He also launched uniforms made of recycled PET bottles under the ‘Unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil and dedicated the twin-cooktop model of the IndianOil’s Indoor Solar Cooking System.
 
The ethanol blending program has been one of the important areas of the government to become ‘Aatmanirbhar’ in the energy sector. In line with the ethanol blending roadmap, E20 fuel would be launched by the Prime Minister at 84 retail outlets of oil marketing companies in 11 states/UTs. The government plans to achieve a complete 20% blending of ethanol by 2025.
 
PM Modi Emphasizes on ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ Mantra
 
The event began with an inaugural speech by Prime Minister Modi. Talking about the emerging unprecedented possibilities for the energy sector in India, he said, “Today, India is one of the strongest voices in the world in energy transition and in developing new resources of energy. Energy is a huge factor in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of India. From industries to offices and from factories to homes, the demand for energy is increasing day by day. In view of the rapid development taking place in India, it is believed that many new cities will be built in India in the coming years. The International Energy Association has also said that India's energy demand will be the highest in the world in this decade. India has brought new opportunities for all the investors and the stakeholders of the energy sector.”
 
Elaborating on the current scenario and future roadmap, he added, “Today, India's share in global oil demand is around 5% but it is expected to reach 11%. India's gas demand is expected to increase by 500 percent. Our expanding energy sector is creating new opportunities for investment and collaborations in India. There are four major verticals of India's strategy regarding the energy sector. First: Increasing domestic exploration and production; second: diversification of supplies; third: expansion of alternative energy sources like biofuels, ethanol, compressed biogas and solar; and fourth: de-carbonization through the use of electric vehicles and hydrogen. India is working rapidly in all these four directions.”
 

He mentioned that with the current capacity of 250 MMTPA, India has the fourth largest refining capacity in the world, which is being further increased to 450 MMTPA. He informed that the country is aiming to increase the LNG terminal re-gasification capacity and rapidly working towards increasing the length of the gas pipeline network. Besides moving fast in the field of bio-energy, India also plans to build 500 new 'waste to wealth' plants under the Gobar-Dhan Yojana in this year’s budget.
 
Elaborating more on the budget allotment, he said, “Renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and green technologies have been further encouraged in the budget. Rs 35,000 crore has been earmarked for priority capital investments so that energy transition and net zero objectives get a boost. We have also made a provision of Rs 10 lakh crore for capital expenditure in the budget. This will also speed up infrastructure from green hydrogen to solar and roads”.
 
“Circular economy, in a way, is a part of the lifestyle of every Indian. The mantra of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle has been ingrained in our values,” he concluded.
 
Shri Hardeep S. Puri, in his opening remarks, said that the India Energy Week was borne out of PM Modi’s long-standing vision for India’s role in the global energy transition while ensuring energy security, affordability, and accessibility for her citizens. He added that it captures India’s dreams and aspirations of an ‘Amrit Kaal’, whilst also underlining her role in the 21st Century global economy as a ‘Vishwaguru’ following ideals of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.
 
“In line with the clarion call given by PM, to phase out single-use plastic items, we are launching the largest initiative in the world to reuse and recycle 100 million PET bottles per year,” he informed. Shri Puri expressed confidence that IEW would provide an unrivalled global networking platform for all where, key priorities would be set, and new partnerships would be forged in energy sector.
 
With more than 30 energy ministers, 50 CEOs, 30000 global energy leaders, 8000 conference delegates, 500 speakers and 650 exhibitors, the event provided a unique opportunity to showcase India as an attractive investment destination supported by a conducive environment, and a skilled workforce.
 
U.S.-India Business Council Leads Delegation to Strengthen US-India Energy Partnership
 
In collaboration with International Energy Forum (IEF), India hosted the 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable with the objective of “Mapping Stable & Secure Energy pathways for achieving Energy security, Energy Justice, Growth and Innovation” and India- U.S. Executive roundtable with US-India Business Council and U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
 
The delegation of U.S.-India Business Council was led by Ambassador Atul Keshap, USIBC President Shreerupa Mitra, USIBC Deputy Managing Director Sidhanta Mehra, and Director for Energy, Environment and Infrastructure Raghvendra Upadhya.
 
USIBC’s delegation engagements included a high-level meeting with Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, a roundtable conference on U.S.-India Energy Transition Cooperation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, industry briefings and other meetings with officials.
India Energy Week happens to be the first event attended by USIBC as part of its engagement with India’s G20 agenda. With India being one of the fastest-growing economies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sees IEW as an opportunity to discuss sustainable development and inclusive growth.
 
Signing of Important MoUs
 
India Energy Week has provided an inflexion point in the Indian energy sector’s evolution. The event also saw the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Directorate General of Hydrocarbon, MoPNG and the University of Houston, Texas, USA as a step forward in strengthening a strategic partnership between India and the United States for establishing a data centre with the University of Houston.
 
The Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed between Petroleum Planning and Analysis cell (PPAC) and International Energy Agency (IEA) to strengthen cooperation in the field of data and research in the energy sector to enhance global energy security.
 
Reliance Launches India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine-Powered Trucks 
 

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2ICE) technology solution for heavy-duty trucks flagged off by PM Modi. These trucks claim to emit near zero emissions, but deliver performance at par with conventional diesel trucks and reduce noise thus redefining the future of green mobility.
 
Reliance Industries has joined hands with its vehicle partner Ashok Leyland and other technical partners to develop this unique technology since the last year as part of its net carbon-zero vision. In future, Reliance will extensively test and validate the H2ICE technology for heavy duty trucks before its first commercial deployment. The company aims to create an end-to-end hydrogen ecosystem for mobility.
 
Era of Resilience Begins
 
India Energy Week 2023 came to a close with India launching the Global Biofuel Alliance. At the closing ceremony of the event, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri congratulated international and national participants for coming on a common platform to facilitate growth, collaboration and transition to make a sustainable, transformative and prosperous future for all. “The era of innocence is done, and the era of resilience has begun,” he said.
 
Talking about IEW being the first major event under India's G20 Presidency, the minister informed that the event provided a unique opportunity for India to showcase various initiatives taken by the government in the energy domain to ensure the energy security of its 1.4 billion citizens within the conforms of India’s pledge at COP26 to cut emissions to achieve net-zero by 2070.
 

 

“IEW 2023 is a great start to a journey that is going to continue and grow from strength to strength. There are practically no global platforms that cover the energy transition issues of the developing and developed world in the manner that we have done through IEW in the past three days. Building on this strong start the platform will only gather further momentum and strength in years to come as the world grapples with the challenges of rapid and just energy transition,” he concluded. Meanwhile, the next edition of India Energy Week is expected to be held in Goa.

- Energetica India Magazine