Noida-based sustainable biogas solutions company Gruner Renewable Energy has secured funding of $60 million to establish new Compressed biogas (CBG) plants across the country.

Gruner is also setting up one of Asia’s largest CBG plants in Navsari, Gujarat.

The company plans to allocate a bigger portion of the funding to advancing research and development, focusing on increasing energy efficiency and biogas production accuracy.

Gruner also plans to explore new business verticals such as sustainable aviation fuel and green hydrogen and scaling up CNG retail outlets.

In April 2024, Gruner secured projects worth ₹15 billion (~$ 179.14 million) to set up CBG plants with a total production capacity of 88,000 tons of CBG per year. The projects are proposed to be set up in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Balasore in Odisha, Navsari in Gujarat, Yavatmal in Maharashtra, and Vijayawada and Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, among others.

Utkarsh Gupta, Founder & CEO, Gruner Renewable Energy, said, “By promoting clean energy production and reducing dependence on imported compressed natural gas (CNG), we contribute significantly to India’s vision of energy independence.”

In 2023, the Petroleum Ministry announced the phased blending of CBG in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for the transport sector and Piped Natural Gas(PNG) for domestic use.

The CBG Blending Obligation (CBO) aims to promote circular economy principles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CBO will be implemented in phases, with voluntary participation until the fiscal year FY 2024-2025, followed by mandatory blending obligations from FY 2025-26.

In the Union Budget 2023-2024, the Indian government decided to establish 500 new waste-to-wealth plants under the Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) initiative. Within 60 days of its introduction in June 2023, the GOBARdhan initiative garnered registrations for over 1200 plants.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy invited proposals for innovative and new design or material-based small biogas projects with a daily generation capacity of 1 to 25 cubic meters. It has sought changes to existing designs for simple, efficient, cost-effective village-level biogas usage.