Pune, October 23, 2013: My Eco Energy (MEE) has announced its foray into the manufacture, distribution, marketing and retailing of bio-diesel fuel in India.

Starting with Maharashtra, the company, which was set up two years ago, plans to acquire a combination of three defunct bio-fuel production facilities in the state. It is looking to set up its first company-owned distribution outlet (selling up to 200,000 litres a day) around Pune as early as December 2013.

Santosh Verma, director, MEE, told Autocar Professional that “while we look at beginning our production operations by April 2014 at our first plant, we will get the bio-diesel contract manufactured for the time being and will supply through our upcoming network. We have earmarked a total of Rs 250 crore for our operations.”

Once the plants become operational, MEE is eyeing production of around 500,000 litres of bio-diesel a day.

The company plans to manufacture the bio-fuel using waste materials including vegetable oils, non-edible oils, acid oils and animal fat. MEE is currently talking to edible vegetable oil making companies to source its raw material for making the end product. “Our bio-diesel can be used by any diesel-run vehicle without making any changes to the engine settings at all. Even if the fuel tank is half-full with diesel fuel, the owners can still get the tank filled with our fuel,” claims Verma.

MEE’s first priority is to target the state-run fleet of buses and trucks on the highways where the largest volume of diesel is consumed. In the initial phase, the company plans to set up a total of 20 distribution units which would supply bio-diesel to nearly 250 retail outlets. “Expect most of our retail outlets to come on state highways where trucks and buses run. We also plan to come up with our retail outlets within cities which will provide our bio-diesel to vehicles within a pre-defined periphery. We look at pricing our fuel roughly Rs 1-2 cheaper than the regular diesel we get at fuel stations which we expect will translate into huge savings for the fleet owners,” added Verma.

MEE officials claim that their bio-fuel would be able to cut down the carbon emissions by up to 80 percent. The company says it is planning a host of marketing and promotional initiatives to spread awareness about of its bio-diesel.

AMIT PANDAY