The UK-based D1 Oils would commission its first refinery for producing biodiesel from Jatropha in Chennai early next year, a senior company executive said.
D1 Oils, which has formed a joint venture with Mohan Breweries and distilleries, would produce 8,000 tonnes of oil in the initial year.
It has taken up large scale jatropha cultivation in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Philip Wood, chief executive officer of D1 oils, said.
On the deliberations on the first International conference on Jatropha in the city, Wood said the company proposed to cultivate jatropha in five million hectares of land and produce 2.7 tonnes oil per hectare by five years.
Considered to be the fuel of future, this biofuel has tremendous potential across the World, particularly developing countries like India, Wood said adding that it was also proposed to engage good number of growers in contract farming.
The 3-day conference, attended by more than 25 renowned experts from South East Asia, Africa, the US and Europe, besides academic staff from leading Indian institutions, discussed a five-year programme of supporting and developing the Jatropha crop to supply for the manufacture of bio-diesel, he said.
The discussions and ideas generated at the conference would support the development of Indian bio-diesel industry providing rural employment and energy security, Wood said.