Que: Could you give us an overview of BiofuelCircle's journey so far? What inspired the creation of a digital platform focused on biofuel adoption and biomass procurement?

Ans: BiofuelCircle was born out of a clear need to address two pressing issues: agricultural waste management and the growing demand for clean energy solutions. We recognized that bioenergy has enormous potential. The fragmented supply chain for biomass and biofuels, however, posed a significant barrier to large-scale adoption. Farmers were struggling to monetize agricultural waste, and industries were facing challenges in securing a reliable and cost-effective biomass supply.

The idea behind BiofuelCircle was to bridge this gap by creating a digital marketplace that connects biomass producers—primarily farmers—with buyers, like bioenergy companies and industries. Our platform simplifies the entire procurement process by providing transparency, traceability, and efficiency in transactions. This allows farmers to unlock new revenue streams and helps buyers access sustainable energy sources more easily.

We have been able to create an inclusive digital platform that brings together all key stakeholders: farmers, biomass processors, biofuel consumers, transporters, and warehousing partners. By building a complete supply chain ecosystem, we aimed to cut down inefficiencies and make biofuels a scalable, practical alternative to fossil fuels. This vision is what drives us every day as we continue to build a strong bioenergy ecosystem that supports both the environment and the economy.

Recently, we strengthened our efforts in the bioenergy space with an investment of INR 75 crore into infrastructure and technology development at grass root level. This investment ensures that rural participants and farmers have access to modern infrastructure and digital tools to support the collection, transport and storage of biomass. Creation and enablement of biomass based rural enterprises is key to scaling this ecosystem.

Que: How does BiofuelCircle’s model contribute to addressing the broader challenges of biomass supply and demand, especially in India’s power sector?

Ans: At BiofuelCircle, our marketplace model is designed to address the critical challenges in the biomass supply-demand gap, particularly for India's power sector as it works to meet renewable energy targets. One of the main hurdles is the fragmented nature of biomass suppliers and tender-based procurement processes, which complicate efficient sourcing. This issue is amplified by the mandatory co-firing regulation, requiring power plants to co-fire 5% biomass with coal starting in fiscal 2024-25, rising to 7% by 2025-26. With an estimated demand of 3.5 million MT annually, the current supply chain struggles due to the dispersed supplier base.

Our digital marketplace connects biomass suppliers and buyers directly, streamlining transactions from supplier verification to delivery scheduling, payments, and invoicing. By replacing traditional tender processes, our platform offers Online Auctions that cut procurement time and ensures a more reliable, scalable biomass supply. Additionally, our recognition through the NTPC Startup Challenge for creating a biomass digital marketplace highlights our capabilities to solving these challenges and supporting India's transition from coal to biomass.

Que: How does BiofuelCircle differentiate itself from conventional biomass procurement methods in terms of technology and impact?

Ans: At BiofuelCircle, we are revolutionizing the biomass marketplace with our fully digital, AI-powered platform. Unlike conventional procurement methods that often involve cumbersome, manual processes, our platform streamlines procurement, enhances quality assurance, and provides seamless market access for both buyers and suppliers. We prioritize transparency, offering real-time insights and verified supplier access, which empowers our users to make informed decisions with confidence.

Our platform supports 90 different commodities and boasts over 14,881 users along with 7.6 million metric tonnes of trades published to date. This extensive network grants buyers unparalleled access to a diverse supplier base, ensuring they can efficiently discover the products they need. With our robust verification processes, users can engage with not just trusted but also pre-qualified suppliers, ensuring product quality and reliability. Moreover, we keep our users informed about the latest market movements; for instance, in August 2024, we observed a 6.5% increase in briquette prices, with the weighted average deal price reaching INR 2.01 per Kcal-kg. As standard briquette prices surged by 22%, surpassing the price of imported coal at INR 1.82 per Kcal-kg, our users can leverage this data to navigate the market effectively. Ultimately, BiofuelCircle’s hassle-free procurement process, characterized by on-time deliveries and matching quality expectations, sets us apart from traditional methods, ensuring reliability and trust for our clients.

Que: BiofuelCircle collaborated with NTPC on a digital auction for biomass pellets. Could you share some unique challenges you faced during this collaboration, and how you overcame them?

Ans: NTPC conducted digital auctions on BiofuelCircle platform for sourcing biomass pellets for some of its plants. Ensuring a consistent and high-quality supply to meet its large-scale requirement is a significant challenge. The fragmented nature of the biomass supply chain and larger number of suppliers that it has to deal with often makes it difficult.

To address these issues, BiofuelCircle’s marketplace, offers various tools, including digital auctions, to streamline procurement. In the first auction, NTPC was able to procure 9,000 metric tonnes of biomass in just 45 minutes. Our marketplace also features a rigorous 120-point supplier verification system to ensure only high-quality suppliers are onboarded. Additionally, our expanding Biomass Banks™ play a key role in ensuring a steady supply and mitigating any disruptions in raw material supply.

Que: One of the key innovations at BiofuelCircle is the 'biomass bank' model. Could you elaborate on how this model works and how it ensures a steady and reliable supply of biomass for power plants?

Ans: The Biomass Bank™ model is at the heart of our mission to provide a steady and reliable supply of biomass. These biomass banks are local ecosystem run by rural enterprises and enabled by BiofuelCircle digital platform. The ecosystem with local participation is responsible for biomass collection, transport and storage. By doing this closer to the source, we minimize logistics costs and ensure that biomass is readily available to meet the needs of bio-energy plants and other industries. We coordinate the operations of our Biomass Banks™ through our cloud-based platform, which gives real-time visibility into inventory levels, logistics, and delivery schedules. This model not only creates a consistent supply chain but also generates livelihoods for local tractor owners, equipment operators, labourers, and others, enhancing the value of agricultural residues for farmers and integrating them into the biofuel value chain.

Que: Stubble burning is a major environmental challenge in India. How does BiofuelCircle incentivize farmers to sell their crop residues, and what impact has this had on mitigating stubble burning?

Ans: To address the issue of stubble burning, BiofuelCircle incentivizes farmers by connecting them with industries that can use their crop residue as biomass feedstock. By selling their residue, farmers can earn additional income, providing a clear incentive to adopt this alternative rather than burning their fields.

Our Biomass Bank model fosters rural enterprise creation not only provides additional income but also creates new employment opportunities. For example, idle tractor owners can rent out and operate their tractors through our App during the aggregation season, earning substantial income. Others can rent and operate equipment like balers, rakers, or slashers, while some can manage warehouses, ensuring efficient storage and distribution of biomass. This approach not only helps mitigate stubble burning but also fosters rural entrepreneurship, empowering farmers and rural communities.

Que: How do you see BiofuelCircle playing a strategic role in accelerating the transition from coal to biomass, particularly in the context of India's renewable energy goals?

Ans: BiofuelCircle's model is designed to support and accelerate the transition from coal to biomass by addressing key challenges in the bioenergy supply chain particularly reliability and scale. By ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality biomass, we enable power plants and other industries to confidently substitute coal with biofuels like briquettes and pellets.

With our recent funding round of INR 45 crore and a term loan from Jio Finance, we are expanding our infrastructure and technology capabilities. Our participative model, involving farmers, rural enterprises, and buyers, ensures inclusivity and scale, while our technology provides transparency and efficiency in procurement. This alignment with India's renewable energy goals makes BiofuelCircle a strategic partner in driving the country's shift towards a sustainable and low-carbon energy future.

Que: How do you envision scaling BiofuelCircle's platform and operations over the next few years? Are there any plans to expand internationally or diversify your service offerings?

Ans: Over the next few years, we plan to expand our operations across India, reaching one million farmers and integrating them into our biofuel supply chain. Our aim is to increase our transaction value to a billion dollars by 2028, incorporating 10-20% of India's biomass resources into our system.

We have ambitious targets for scaling up our Biomass Banks™, with a plan to establish 35 warehouses by March 2025, each capable of storing around 10,000 metric tonnes of biomass, bringing the total storage capacity to 350,000 metric tonnes. Additionally, we aim to double the number of rural partners from the current count of over 1,000. Our focus is on leveraging technology to ensure inclusive participation, address challenges related to working capital and quality control and create a reliable biomass supply chain. We are also exploring opportunities for international expansion and aim to replicate our digital platform model in other developing countries facing similar challenges, contributing to global sustainability efforts.