Energetica India Magazine January-February 2021

Ashvin Patil Founder & Director, Biofuels Junction Pvt Ltd We clearly see the demand rising continuously as it’s driven by distinct advantage to the user in terms of cost and environment norms. However, the supply side has to be incentivised to keep up the pace with demand side. There is large occurrence of failure in small manufacturers in this field. This is where the Government support is critical. In an exclusive interaction series with startup companies in the energy and mobility space, Manu Tayal , Associate Editor, Energetica India, interacted with Ashvin Patil , Founder & Director, Biofuels Junction Pvt Ltd. Here’re the edited excerpts from that interaction: 36 energetica INDIA- Jan-Feb_2021 Shed some light on Biofuels Junction including its vision. Ashvin Patil : Biofuels Junction, started in 2016, is dealing in solid biofuels value chain with presence from raw material to steam contracts. It is positioned as one of the largest ag- gregators of biomass briquettes & pellets made from agri and wood waste. In 2019, we entered in production of these clean energy products by acquiring plants in strategic locations from where the logistical challenge of procuring raw materials and transporting the final product to customers can be minimised. We have a briquette manufacturing factory at Mandangarh (Ratnagiri District) and Thane. Our vision is to be a performance leader in the clean energy sec- tor by providing sustainable, socially responsible, energy solutions. Also, we have our pellet manufacturing facility in Nagpur with brand name BioSpark. The growth drivers for Biofuels Junction would be back- ward and forward integration, backward integration to assure raw material supply and forward integration de- mand sustainability, with a yearly growth and a produc- tion capacity of 50,000 tons (as of March 2020). We are planning to scale up its demand side by geographically expanding focus on commercial pellet market and boiler management contracts. With a total headcount of 40, Bio- fuels Junction is set to achieve higher revenue targets from current levels of Rs 21 crore in FY2020. What market scope do you see? Ashvin Patil : Industry has embraced biofuels as a form of clean energy across applications and geographies. Over the past decade, large corporations have adopted biofuels for lower pollution parameters and cost savings. This shift was spearheaded by the Multinationals (MNCs) and now accepted by the MSMEs too. Thus in terms of replacement it has been replacing usage of Crude Oil de- rivatives such as Furnace Oil and Gas successfully and has also resulted in cost savings. Recently, the shift has also happened in replacing Coal for pollution related issues. Pharma, Chemical, Tyres and Food Industries were the first one to shift while industries such as Steel and Cement are yet to make a move. We foresee Power sector to be the biggest users of biofuels going ahead – a trend which is in line with developed countries. Hence, biofuels are not a hard sell any more to the industry, but a necessity and convenience. Briquettes are already accepted by the industry as a means to reduce cost vis-à-vis use of furnace oil and achieve better pollution norms vis-a-vis coal or other fossil fuels. Industrial pellets are also getting acceptance for the benefit of automation and better pollution norms. Com - mercial grade pellets usage has surged recently as the equipment ecosystem has advanced and a clear advan- tage is available in terms of better performance against wood or any raw fuel and huge cost savings vis-à-vis LPG “We suggest subsidised rate of electricity to be given to small rural manufacturing units to lower their running cost” EMERGING INNOVATORS