The state of Assam is becoming a global leader in sustainable fuel improvements. The world’s first bamboo-based bioethanol plant is being built in Numaligarh in the Golaghat area. Assam Bio Ethanol Pvt Ltd (ABEPL) spent Rs 4,930 crore to create the plant. This shows a big change in India’s renewable energy. It is the only plant that uses bamboo as its main source. The plant is expected to produce 49,000 metric tons of ethanol each year, which shows technology and worry for the environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the project in September 2025. It is now getting ready and is expected to start full production soon.
ABEPL Chief Executive Officer Rupjyoti Hazarika said that the plant made fuel-grade ethanol with 99.7% purity during testing. This is better than the industry standard of 99.5%. The plant covers 43 acres and is designed to use all parts of the bamboo, making it a ‘zero-waste’ plant. Besides ethanol, it will also produce 19,000 tons of furfural, 11,000 tons of acetic acid, 32,000 tons of liquid CO₂, and 25 MW of green power each year. This makes sure that all resources are used and there is little harm to the environment.
The thing that makes the Assam bamboo ethanol plant special is how it includes farmers. ABEPL plans to include over 30,000 farmers in its bamboo supply network over the next three years. This will cover a 300-kilometer area across 16 areas of Assam, four in Arunachal Pradesh, five in Nagaland, and one in Meghalaya. The plan is to make a system of bamboo farming and buying that will help local groups and add over Rs 200 crore to the rural economy each year. Right now, over 4,200 farmers have signed up for the program, and Rs 2.4 crore has already been sent directly to their accounts without anyone else involved.
The company thinks that producing ethanol at full power will need about five lakh metric tons of green bamboo each year. To do this, the area for planting bamboo must grow to 12,500 hectares. An estimated 60 lakh bamboo trees will be planted over the next three years. Bamboo farming is now happening on about 300 hectares of land. ABEPL has given away over one lakh trees for free, mostly to tea estates. This takes use of the government’s rule that allows up to five percent of tea garden land to be used for other farming. Many tea garden owners want to use some of their land for bamboo farming, which creates a way to grow different crops in the area.
Hazarika noted that ABEPL is dedicated to being responsible with the environment when getting bamboo. The company is planting bamboo on empty and unused land, instead of telling farmers to change their food-crop fields. This helps to increase income and protect the environment, matching India’s goals for bioenergy and carbon neutrality. Once they have enough bamboo, ABEPL plans to be carbon neutral, setting new standards for the global biofuel business.
The plant’s technology is also very good. Bamboo is cut into small pieces of about 25 mm each before being processed. ABEPL has found 24 chipping places in four areas. Eight of these have agreements with the company, and four are now supplying bamboo. When the plant is running at its highest level, it will use the most bamboo in the Northeast, creating a stable demand for the area’s bamboo.
The Assam bamboo ethanol plant is also a model for working with others around the world. ABEPL is a joint project between India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Finland-based companies Fortum 3 BV and Chempolis Oy. The Finnish technology has brought the skills needed to turn bamboo into high-quality ethanol and other chemical products. This shows how working together can help local improvements while meeting world environment goals.
The Numaligarh bioethanol project helps India’s national policy on advanced biofuels, which wants to grow second-generation ethanol production using non-food biomass. The plant uses bamboo, which grows fast, is renewable, and easy to get. This supports the government’s goal of mixing 20 percent ethanol with petrol by 2030 while using less normal, food-based ethanol. For the Northeast, this means new industrial growth that doesn’t harm the environment or local life.
As the plant gets ready to start full production, it represents a big step for Assam and India in the world’s clean energy story. The use of biotechnology, community involvement, and sustainable supply makes the bamboo-based bioethanol plant a project in renewable fuel production. For farmers in Assam and nearby states, it gives another way to earn money and a chance to help shape India’s green energy future.
