NTPC and Chempolis India to collaborate for Bamboo-based Bio-Refinery

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India's largest power generation company, and Chempolis India, an associate company of the Fortum group and a leading Finnish supplier of biorefinery technology, have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the feasibility of setting up a bamboo-based biorefinery in Bongaigaon.

Chempolis will work with NTPC to conduct a feasibility study for the project, which will use bamboo to produce 2G ethanol, bio-coal for thermal power plants and other value-added products. Last week, the MoU was signed in the presence of NTPC Director of HR Dilip Kumar Patel, EIL Director of HR Ashok Kumar Kalra and Chempolis President and CEO Markus Alholm.

The proposed biorefinery is designed as an integration project with the NTPC Bongaigaon Power Plant, where all utilities such as steam, power, etc. are provided by the power plant, and the biocoal produced by the biorefinery partially replaces coal in the power plant, effectively converting 5% of the power plant's generation to green. By promoting the use of locally available resources, the project will help NTPC's decarbonization efforts, create jobs, and build a sustainable model. M/s EIL is the NTPC project advisor responsible for preparing the detailed project report.