IOC to form wholly owned subsidiary for renewable energy business

In a stock exchange filing, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), India’s flagship national oil company said that at a meeting held on March 14, 203, its Board of Directors has approved the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary in India that will operate “in the domain of low-carbon, new clean and green energy businesses.”

The company explained its plan to consolidate all its existing green assets under one umbrella and rapidly expand its footprint across sustainable energy avenues like biofuels, renewables, green hydrogen and CCUS (Carbon offsets & Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage), during the first Green Energy Summit held on March 15, 2023.

“While IndianOil is committed to energising India’s exponentially rising energy needs, we are also determined to be the flagbearer of India’s green energy transition. We are thus scaling up our green endeavours with a definitive focus, and going forward; we will consolidate our green assets under one umbrella for better synergy. Our ambitious green roadmap also involves forging effective collaborations to nurture commercial-scale green businesses. We shall provide opportunities to investors and technology providers across the globe to partner in our journey,” said S. M. Vaidya, IOC chairman.

IOC plans to to build a portfolio of:

• 3 gigawatts (GW) renewable energy and 0.6 million metric tonnes (MMT) biofuels by 2025;
• 35 GW renewable energy, 4 MMT biofuels and 1 MMT biogas by 2030; 
• 200 GW renewable energy, 7 MMT biofuels and 9 MMT biogas by 2050.

IOC’s renewable energy portfolio currently stands at 239 MW, which is being expanded through new wind, solar, hydroelectric and pumped hydro projects. The company is also collaborating with NTPC to augment its renewable energy capacity by around 2.8 GW. IOC is also greening its supply chain by installing solar panels at 20,705 retail outlets for a total installed capacity of 121 MW. Initiatives in EVs are being intensified by setting up 4,700 charging stations and 66 battery swapping stations. A collaboration has been entered with Phinergy, an Israeli start-up company specialising in hybrid lithium-ion and aluminium-air battery systems, to form IOC Phinergy Private Limited. Various other battery chemistries are also being explored.