Suzuki Produces Biogas for Vehicles from Cow Dung in India

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. is producing biogas for vehicle fuel from cow dung in India, its primary car market. Quoting Kyodo on Sunday (19/4), in mid-March, the car manufacturer introduced the biogas facility to journalists in Bhukhala, Gujarat state, western India. At the plant, cow dung is fermented for one month in large tanks. The resulting gas is then purified into fuel and supplied to local residents through a filling station near the facility. The processing residue is sold as organic fertiliser. Suzuki’s biogas production is an effort to promote decarbonisation while boosting income for local farmers. Utilising cow dung also helps reduce methane emissions, a major contributor to global warming. Without processing, these emissions would be released directly from the waste. The Suzuki biogas facility can process up to 100 tons of cow dung per day and produce about 1.5 tons of biogas, sufficient to operate around 850 vehicles for one day. Suzuki purchases cow dung from local farmers at a price of one rupee (about Rp184) per kilogram, generating annual income of around 72,000 rupees (about Rp13.2 million) for an average household. Currently, Suzuki operates two biogas plants in India and plans to build seven additional facilities. A company official stated that Suzuki aims to expand its operations across all of India.