In a significant push toward India’s clean energy goals, Organic Recycling Systems Ltd. (ORSL), based in Mumbai, has teamed up with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE) to launch a new pilot biomethanation plant at Solapur Bioenergy Systems Pvt. Ltd. (SBESPL), reports Energetica India.
The newly inaugurated plant will test the effectiveness of the THERMI-NIBE microbial culture on various organic materials like Napier grass, agricultural waste, and food industry byproducts. The goal is to assess the culture’s potential to produce biogas through anaerobic digestion—a process that breaks down organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
The project supports the Indian government’s SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) initiative, which aims to boost production of Compressed Biogas (CBG) as an eco-friendly fuel alternative.
Originally developed to convert municipal solid waste into biogas and organic fertilizer, the Solapur facility will now serve as a key research and testing center for advanced microbial technologies in bioenergy. The new SEED-based plant is expected to improve digestion efficiency and increase gas yields, helping pave the way for wider commercial adoption across the country.
“This is a pivotal advancement in innovation-led growth,” said Yashas Bhand, CEO of ORSL. “It sets real-world benchmarks that can reduce investment risks and build confidence in new biomethanation technologies.”
Dr. Sachin Kumar, Deputy Director of SSS-NIBE, emphasized that deploying the indigenous THERMI-NIBE culture outside the lab and into actual field operations marks an important step forward. “We are proving its ability to handle complex biomass in real conditions,” he said.
With strong backing from Napier grass cultivation, the pilot plant is expected to become a model for nationwide replication. The insights gathered will contribute directly to India’s National Bioenergy Mission and support efforts toward building a circular economy.
