BiofuelCircle sets up over 70 biomass banks
India's BiofuelCircle says it has built a network of more than 70 biomass banks in three years, linking farmers, crop-residue aggregation and bioenergy demand in a farm-to-fuel-to-soil model.
BiofuelCircle, an Indian startup that has spent about five years building a farm-to-fuel-to-soil ecosystem, says it has set up more than 70 biomass banks over the past three years. Co-founder and chief executive Suhas Baxi told businessline that the network is designed to connect farmers, agricultural-residue collection and downstream buyers of bioenergy feedstock through a more organized supply chain.
The company treats each biomass bank as an independent rural micro-enterprise that is expected to stand on commercially viable terms. According to Baxi, a typical unit involves investment of about Rs 3 crore and can generate annual revenue in the range of Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore. He said the first 10 units in the network are already profitable, while the next 25 are progressing toward the same stage.
On current operating trends, a typical unit becomes EBITDA positive within 12 to 18 months. At the same time, no unit in the network has yet completed a full four-year cycle, so the company says longer-term proof will take more time to establish. Even so, BiofuelCircle argues that the early evidence already points to a workable model for building durable rural enterprises around biomass aggregation and supply chains.
Beyond profitability, the company says the banks create local jobs and establish structured markets for agricultural residues that would otherwise remain underused. Baxi said the operating focus is on building collection systems and logistics first so that feedstock can reach bioenergy producers and industrial users at more predictable prices. He also argued that bioenergy will not replace fossil fuels on its own, but can reduce dependence on fossil imports and add resilience when combined with solar and wind.
Baxi said subsidies should act as investment accelerators rather than permanent crutches. In his view, a business model that depends on ongoing subsidies for day-to-day viability shows structural weakness. BiofuelCircle's position is that decentralized bioenergy can become more durable when policy support helps early capital formation, while long-term sustainability comes from a functioning residue market and a repeatable commercial operating model.