Cow dung to power Suzuki biogas push in India

Suzuki Motor Corp. has unveiled its second biogas plant in India, highlighting the firm’s efforts to develop alternative fuel infrastructure in one of its most important markets.

According to Jiji Press, the facility, located in Bhukhala in Gujarat in Northwest India, was presented to media on March 19 and processes cow dung to generate methane for use in compressed natural gas vehicles – an increasingly popular form of transport on the subcontinent. A tractor used to collect the raw material operates at the site, alongside a fermentation tank where the gas is produced.

The plant ferments the cow dung sourced from local farmers and then extracts methane, which is subsequently sold through an on-site filling station. Biogas derived from such waste is regarded as a carbon-neutral fuel and is intended to support higher incomes for agricultural producers supplying the feedstock.

The project in Gujarat forms part of a demonstration initiative led by Suzuki, developed primarily in cooperation with a local dairy industry association, but seen as an approach reflecting Suzuki’s broader attempt to integrate rural supply chains into energy production while addressing emissions from conventional fuels. The facility, which began operations in January, now has the capacity to process up to 100 tonnes of cow dung per day, in the process yielding approximately 1.5 tonnes of biogas daily.