The collaboration, signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan, aims to accelerate India's clean energy goals, enhance energy security, and foster sustainable economic growth.
In a significant move for Indo-Japanese cooperation, TruAlt Bioenergy Limited (TBL), India’s leading biofuels producer, and Sumitomo Corporation, a major Japanese trading and investment group, have announced a strategic partnership to advance India’s bioenergy sector. The agreement, unveiled at the Japan-India Next-Generation Economic Forum, aligns with the shared vision of both nations to accelerate global decarbonization efforts and enhance energy security.
The collaboration's initial focus is on the development of four state-of-the-art Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in the Indian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. These projects are anticipated to have a significant socioeconomic impact, generating approximately 700 direct and indirect jobs and unlocking an additional 800 to 1,000 livelihood opportunities. TruAlt Bioenergy, with its 51% stake in the newly formed Joint Venture Company (JVC), will lead the implementation, while Sumitomo Corporation will hold a 49% share, bringing its global expertise and investment power to the table.
This landmark partnership is set to leverage India's growing biofuels industry and Japan's advanced decarbonization technologies, particularly under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). The JCM, a cornerstone of the agreement, is designed to channel Japanese technology and investment into India's bioenergy sector while transparently crediting the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. This bilateral framework not only reinforces the climate commitments of both nations under the Paris Agreement but also sets a precedent for how international partnerships can translate climate ambitions into tangible action.
Beyond the initial CBG projects, the partnership is designed as a long-term strategic alliance with plans to expand into the ethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) sectors. These future projects are crucial to India’s clean energy transition and the broader global push for decarbonization. As stated by Vijay Nirani, Founder & Managing Director of TruAlt Bioenergy, "This partnership with Sumitomo Corporation represents the convergence of their global expertise in sustainable enterprise and TruAlt Bioenergy’s leadership in India’s biofuels sector." He emphasized that the collaboration is not only a step toward accelerating India's clean energy goals but also a significant contribution to Japan's climate commitments, laying the groundwork for India to become a global biofuels hub.
The agreement also highlights the role of biofuels in achieving India’s “Panchamrit” commitments, which aim to lower carbon intensity and expand renewable energy. By integrating waste-to-energy innovation and promoting circular agriculture through the production of solid and liquid fermented organic manure as a by-product, TruAlt Bioenergy, through its subsidiary Leafniti Bioenergy, is actively shaping a sustainable and resilient green energy landscape.
