Biomass Reservation for Hard-to-Abate Sectors
India produces 750 million metric tonnes of biomass annually — and wastes 350 million MT of it. Most of what is used goes to power co-firing and ethanol blending: sectors that already have cleaner alternatives. CRID advocates redirecting this biomass to hard-to-abate sectors — steel, aviation, marine — where it is the only near-term cost-competitive substitute for coal.
The Problem
The gap CRID is closing.
India's biomass is being allocated to the wrong sectors. Current policy directs it toward power generation (co-firing) and mobility (ethanol blending) — applications where solar, wind, and EVs already offer cleaner, cheaper, and more scalable alternatives. Meanwhile, hard-to-abate sectors like steel, aviation, and marine have no equivalent green fuel option — and biomass, at ₹0.5/kWh versus ₹2–4/kWh for solar or wind, is cost-competitive with coal specifically in these applications. The misallocation is not a market failure — it is a policy gap.
CRID's Approach
How we're building this.
CRID is building the evidence base that makes the policy case undeniable. The first phase is full documentation of India's biomass availability, production geography, and current utilisation patterns. The second maps demand from hard-to-abate sectors — quantifying how much biomass each sector needs, at what cost, and through which supply chains. The third is stakeholder advocacy: engaging relevant ministries to establish a national reservation policy that routes biomass to industrial applications where it eliminates emissions that no other technology can reach.
Expected Impact
What changes when this lands.
Redirecting India's wasted and misallocated biomass to hard-to-abate sectors could unlock over 10% of India's total emission reduction potential — the hardest 10% to reach through any other means. Steel, aviation, and marine would gain a viable near-term pathway to decarbonisation. And India would have a biomass allocation framework that maximises the molecule's climate impact rather than its political convenience.
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