Biogas Boom in India: EverEnviro Seeks First-Ever PE Backing

9 Jan 2024 , 12:01 PM

According to news reports, Investment banks are being interviewed by EverEnviro, a fully owned subsidiary of Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), and talks are now taking place with companies including Standard Chartered and Avendus. This would be the first private equity investment in the rapidly expanding CBG sector if it came to pass.

Eversource Capital founded EverEnviro Resource Management in 2019 to provide all-inclusive solutions for managing different waste streams, such as hazardous waste, agro waste, and urban municipal garbage. Everstone Group and Lightsource bp have formed an equal joint venture called Eversource Capital.

EverEnviro currently operates a 550-ton-per-day bio-cNG plant in Indore, and it has been supplying CBG into Avantika Gas’ piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure since September of last year. By FY24, it intends to have five more facilities operating in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, with a combined daily capacity of 60 MT CBG.

Mahesh Girdhar, MD and CEO of EverEviro Resource Management, declined to comment when contacted regarding the plans for funding.

‘We are expanding further and have the support of top financial institutions like PNB, Tata Capital, and HDFC. We are defining a value proposition for the industry as the first company with five CBG plants operating,’ he stated. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) only offers Rs 4 crore for CBG plants that produce 4.8 tons of CBG per day; this amount is capped at Rs 10 crore per plant for CBG plants that produce 12 tons or more per day.

According to the most recent data, there have been around 48 CBG facilities put into service to date, and 9548 tonnes of CBG were sold in FY 2023–2024.

The National Biofuels Coordination Committee (NBCC) implemented phase-wise mandatory CBG blending in the PNG (Domestic) and CNG (Transport) segments of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) sector in order to encourage the production and consumption of CBG in the nation. For FY 2025–2026, FY 2026–2027, and FY 2027–2028, respectively, the CBG Blending Obligation (CBO) will remain at 1%, 3%, and 4% of total CNG/PNG use. According to Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli, CBO will be 5% starting in 2028–2029.

In September, EverEnviro and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) entered into a joint venture (JV) with the aim of establishing over 100 CBG plants throughout India using a variety of feedstocks, such as municipal solid waste (MSW), agricultural waste, and agro-industrial waste.

With an investment of more than $72 million, Trualt Bioenergy, another CBG company based in Bengaluru, partnered with Gail India to develop ten compressed biogas (CBG) units.

Similar to this, Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, intends to establish over 100 CBG facilities nationwide over the course of the next five years. These plants will consume approximately 5.5 million tons of organic waste and agricultural residue, resulting in an annual decrease of roughly 2 million tons of carbon emissions.

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