Sustainable fuel technology provider Velocys has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India-based biofuel and carbon dioxide removal project developer Varhad Capital to advance a new generation of biomass-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) projects in India.
Under the agreement, the companies will engineer and design scalable biomass-to-SAF facilities using indigenous agricultural residues as feedstock. The collaboration combines Varhad’s existing operational gasification platform, which already produces syngas and biochar from agricultural residues, with Velocys’ Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology, creating a pathway from biomass to SAF. Initial projects will establish a hub-and-spoke model for SAF production across the country.
The partnership is targeting SAF that can compete with conventional fuel pathways on cost while achieving strong lifecycle carbon performance.
India’s SAF opportunity is driven by abundant agricultural residues, rapidly growing aviation demand, and a policy focus on domestic production.
Prasad Dahapute, founder and managing director of Varhad, said: ‘With an operating gasification platform already in place, we are moving quickly. Working with Velocys allows us to translate that capability into fuel production through a proven technology that is aligned with favourable market economics.’
Sachin Joshi, chief commercial officer at Velocys, said: ‘This collaboration is about combining two commercially proven technologies in a market where we can streamline biomass-to-fuels production with a technically robust, commercially competitive offering.’
