Guwahati: Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has collaborated with a Finnish company to manufacture ethanol out of bamboo, a top company official said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a CII event virtually, the managing director of NRL Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan said the company has invested heavily in a bio-ethanol plant.

“We have tied up with a Finnish firm to manufacture ethanol out of bamboo. Bamboo will be procured from the farmers and the plant can be a backup supplier of oil marketing companies in the northeast for blending motor spirit with ethanol”, Phukan said.

The MD said to reduce carbon emissions, the company is trying to get out of captive power generation and get connected to the grid for which it has done a power purchase agreement with a green power producer.

He said that India needs to get out of the volatility of the crude prices.

According to him, since the northeast has plenty of water, hydrogen can be locally produced and be used as green fuel

He said there is a need to monetise gas reserves lying underneath and also store carbon dioxide in dead wells and reservoirs.