Scania and the development financier of the Swedish state Swedfund are establishing a partnership to develop the production of biogas as a vehicle fuel in the Indian city of Nagpur, which is located in the state of Maharashtra and has 2.5 million inhabitants. The biogas will be produced from digested sludge from one of the city’s wastewater treatment plants in collaboration with local companies. Nagpur is participating in the government’s initiative to improve the environment and transport systems in India’s 100 largest cities.
“This is a Swedish venture, which in a sustainable and profitable manner can generate many new jobs and contribute to India’s shift towards renewable fuels. Biogas is the fuel of the future, which will contribute to solving India’s huge pollution problems while taking a comprehensive approach to the major environmental challenges,” said Swedfund’s CEO Anna Ryott.
Currently India occupies third place in terms of global carbon dioxide emissions, and these emissions are expected to double in the next few decades. Producing biogas from waste in major cities and residual products from agriculture represents an important part of the solution to India’s problems with air pollution, waste management and the cost of imported energy.
“Scania has vehicles and technologies that can contribute to this shift, here and now. We see great opportunities for Sweden as a country to lead the development towards sustainable cities in the world in general and in India in particular. For this reason, we are extremely happy to be able to take this step together with Swedfund,” commented Scania’s President and CEO Martin Lundstedt.
Source: Swedfund
