Netherlands-based investment manager Climate Fund Managers (CFM) has committed $32.2 million to support Akaia Green Fuels’ waste-to-biogas project in Uttar Pradesh.

The investment will be made through CFM’s Climate Investor Two Fund, a finance facility focused on renewable energy, green hydrogen, water, waste, and oceans infrastructure in emerging markets.

The funding will support project development activities such as feasibility studies, engineering design, and other preparatory work required to reach financial closure and begin construction.

The construction of the project began last month and is expected to be completed by the first half of 2027. The facility will be developed by GPS Renewables along with a multi-year operation and maintenance agreement. The project will also receive technical help from European advisory firms Fichtner and TÜV, ensuring compliance with international engineering, environmental, and safety standards.

The biogas produced will be injected into the city’s gas distribution network under long-term offtake agreements with GAIL India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.

The project aims to convert organic waste into biogas, helping address India’s growing waste management challenges while producing renewable energy and low-carbon fuels.

The project will process about 94,000 tons of agricultural and organic waste each year, including paddy straw, sugar mill press mud, and cow dung, to produce roughly 20 tons of compressed biogas daily and approximately 123 tons of fermented organic manure per day.

Once operational, the facility is expected to improve air quality for nearly 700,000 people across 640 villages by reducing open-field burning of crop residue.

Jirong Lim, Investment Director at Climate Fund Managers, said: “Agricultural residue burning remains one of the most persistent environmental challenges in northern India. Projects like Akaia Green Fuels show how this waste can be transformed into clean energy, organic fertiliser, and new income streams for farmers, while delivering meaningful improvements in air quality and emissions.”

The waste-to-biogas project is expected to divert significant amounts of waste from landfills, lower methane emissions, and produce sustainable bioenergy for industrial and energy applications.

Farmers are expected to earn additional income by selling waste biomass, while also benefiting from access to affordable organic fertilisers, such as fermented organic manure, a by-product of compressed biogas production.

Climate Fund Managers’ construction equity investment builds on $3.3 million in early-stage development funding provided in 2023.

In October last year, IOC GPS Renewables (IGRPL) secured ₹8.36 billion (~$94.2 million) in debt financing from the Indian Bank to develop nine compressed biogas plants in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana. IGRPL is a joint venture between the Indian Oil Corporation and GPSR Arya, a subsidiary of GPS Renewables.

In 2020, CFM and AMPYR Energy had partnered to develop 138 MW of onshore wind farms in Karnataka.