New Delhi: GAIL (India) Limited has invested Rs 13 crore in Leafiniti Bioenergy, a subsidiary of TruAlt Bioenergy, to support the development of compressed biogas (CBG) projects across multiple states.
The investment has been made through an equity share subscription, under an agreement signed last year, which will see GAIL acquire a 49% stake in Leafiniti, while TruAlt will retain a 51% holding.
Leafiniti plans to set up six new CBG plants in the first phase across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha. Each plant will have a daily production capacity of 12 tonnes of biogas, primarily using sugar mill waste as feedstock.
The company aims to produce around 23,976 tonnes of CBG annually through these projects. In addition to biogas, the plants are expected to generate large quantities of organic manure, including over 97,900 tonnes of solid fermented manure and about 4.7 lakh tonnes of liquid organic manure each year.
The investment is part of GAIL’s broader initiative to support emerging clean energy ventures through its ‘Pankh’ programme, launched in 2017, which focuses on backing startups in sectors such as bioenergy.
The development also comes amid policy support for biomass-based energy projects. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has revised financial assistance norms for CBG plants, offering support for projects that use a high share of biomass.
In parallel, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has updated guidelines under the National Bioenergy Programme to promote cleaner energy technologies and boost the adoption of biomass solutions across the country.
The programme, launched in 2022, is set to run until the financial year 2026, with a planned outlay of Rs 858 crore for its first phase, aimed at accelerating India’s shift towards renewable and sustainable energy sources.
