India-based biofuels engineering company Praj Industries is in talks with Mexican authorities over plans to establish an ethanol production plant in northern Mexico, as the country steps up efforts to expand biofuel use and reduce dependence on imported gasoline.

Officials in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas recently met representatives of Praj Industries to discuss the company’s proposal to produce ethanol using sorghum and other agricultural feedstocks, bnamericas reported.

The discussions come as Mexico seeks to increase ethanol blending in gasoline and strengthen domestic biofuel production. The initiative is also aimed at creating additional income opportunities for farmers while reducing reliance on fuel imports from the United States.

Tamaulipas, Mexico’s largest sorghum-producing state, is being considered a key location for the proposed project.

Speaking at the National Biogas Forum in Mexico City, Tamaulipas Energy Minister Walter Julián Ángel Jiménez said Praj Industries had expressed interest in developing a hybrid ethanol production facility in southern Tamaulipas that could process both sorghum and sugarcane.

According to Jiménez, discussions with the Indian company focused on infrastructure requirements, investment opportunities and the potential use of ethanol production by-products to generate additional revenue streams.

Mexico is also evaluating plans to increase the proportion of ethanol blended with gasoline. Under the proposed strategy, ethanol would replace methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a fuel additive that the country imports largely from the United States.