General Motors India had pumped in nearly US$ 0.5 million to obtain biodiesel from Jatropha and test it on its vehicles at Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute’s (CSMCRI).
During the first phase trials, GM manufactured vehicle were run over 25,000 kilometres on bio-diesel blended fuel and the content of bio-diesel as fuel ranged between 10-20 per cent during the testing phase.
After the successful first phase of its trial run, the Indian arm of the American auto giant is set to sign a pact with the aforesaid Bhavnagar-based organsition to begin cultivating jatropha on a wasteland in Gujarat.
According to sources who requested anonymity, as General Motors’ Halol unit will be signing an MoU with CSMCRI for the cultivation of Jatropha on wasteland in Gujarat. He also added that the state govt has already been approached for obtaining 50-70 hectares of wasteland in Panchmahal to commence the Jatropha plantation project.
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