Cow Dung to Power Suzuki CNG Cars
If you have been joking around with the rest of the carbon neutral crowd, this cliche has probably come up, but now it's actually in the works.
India’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki Motor, has announced that it will use cow dung to fuel cars. In more detail, to power its CNG (compressed natural gas) also known as biogas cars.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Maruti Suzuki and Asia’s largest dairy manufacturer, the National Dairy Development Board and Banas Dairy. This is part of India's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality and tackle carbon dioxide emissions. This interesting announcement is part of Suzuki Motor Corporation's (the parent company of Maruti Suzuki) growth strategy for 2030.
According to the company, it has invested in Fujisan Asagiri Biomass in Japan that generates power from biogas procured from cow dung. That is where the stanky magic will happen!
“While we expect the Indian market to grow toward 2030, we also expect that the increase in total carbon dioxide emission amount is unavoidable, regardless of the reduction in CO2 emission from products. We will challenge to strike a balance between the increasing sales units and reducing total CO2 emission amount,” Suzuki said in a statement.
Maruti Suzuki Swift powered by CNG
Maruti Suzuki started selling CNG cars in 2010 with three models; Suzuki Eeco, Suzuki Alto, and Suzuki WagonR. It has sold over 1.14 million units until now, saving more than 1.31 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. They currently sell 14 CNG models; including the Alto, Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, Eeco, WagonR, Swift, Dzire, Ertiga, Baleno, XL6, Grand Vitara, and Tour S. Today, the company has a share of 70% in India's CNG car market. Which is massive, and understandable why they want to take this next step.
"We believe that the biogas business in India not only contributes to carbon neutrality but also promotes economic growth and contributes to the society of India. We are also in view of expanding the business to other farming areas in regions, including Africa, ASEAN, and Japan in the future," Suzuki said.
Turning a cliche into an action. We respect that!
Sources: DFA; Hindustan News Hub