Alternative fuel: GM, Daimler & M&M plan Jatropha ride

15 Jul, 2008, 0758 hrs IST,Shramana Ganguly Mehta & Avinash Nair, ET Bureau

AHMEDABAD: Driven by soaring crude prices, auto giants General Motors, Daimler Chrysler and M&M have placed their bets on Jatropha. GM and Daimler Chrysler are not just getting the alternate fuel tested on their vehicles but also nurturing Jatropha cultivation for widescale experiments.

Gujarat-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) is aiding these companies realise their aspirations to use Jatropha as an alternate fuel in their futuristic engines.

While European automotive player Daimler’s Jatropha plantations across Gujarat and Orissa are already in their fourth year, US auto giant GM will join the race to cultivate Jatropha across 75-80 hectares of wasteland in Gujarat.

General Motors (India) president and MD Karl Slym told ET: “GM has already invested $0.5 million (in the first phase) to get biodiesel derived from Jatropha tested in six of its vehicles at CSMCRI’s facility (at Bhavnagar).” “There does not seem to be an end to the hike in crude oil prices.

GM is very aggressive about using alternate fuel in its vehicles. So be it electric vehicles (tests are on in the US market) or LPG and CNG variants, we are seeking the final answer to the problem. Shortly, we will enter into another agreement with CSMCRI for contract farming of Jatropha,” Mr Slym remarked.