Climate Fund Managers to invest $32 million in GPS Renewables built waste-to-biogas
Climate Fund Managers has committed $ 32.2 million from its EU-supported Climate Investor Two Construction Equity Fund to Akaia Green Fuels, a commercial-scale waste-to-biogas facility in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. GPS Renewables is associated as the EPC and O&M partner for the Akaia Green Fuels biogas project.
This initiative reflects the European Union’s strong partnership with India on climate action, a priority reaffirmed at the 16th India–EU Summit. Through the partnership, the EU is accelerating decarbonisation – supporting industrial transition, scaling up green hydrogen and expanding renewable energy.
The investment will help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by converting agricultural waste into compressed biogas – a renewable fuel that displaces imported fossil gas, while creating new income for rural communities. The project will convert ~94,000 tonnes of agricultural and organic waste each year, including paddy straw, press mud from sugar mills and cow dung, into ~20 tonnes per day of compressed biogas and ~123 tonnes per day of fermented organic manure.
Farmers will benefit from additional income from waste biomass sales as well as access to cost-effective organic fertilisers such as fermented organic manure, a by-product of the CBG process, supporting improved soil health and reducing reliance on chemical fertilisers.
India generates millions of tonnes of agricultural residues each year and much of this waste is currently burned in the open or left to decompose, but with improved management practices, there is a strong opportunity to reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions and help prevent severe seasonal smog.
The Akaia Green Fuels project addresses this challenge by repurposing agricultural waste into clean energy and organic fertiliser products, while improving air quality. The biogas produced will be injected directly into the city gas distribution network under long-term offtake agreements with India’s largest natural gas company, GAIL India, and HPCL, displacing imported fossil gas and strengthening India’s energy security.
The facility will be delivered by GPS Renewables under a fixed-price EPC and multi-year operations and maintenance contract, with independent technical oversight from European advisors Fichtner and TÜV to ensure compliance with international engineering, environmental and safety standards.
Mainak Chakraborty, Co-Founder of GPS Renewables, said: “We are delighted to welcome Climate Fund Managers into India’s CBG sector through their investment in Akaia Green Fuels. Their commitment underscores the maturity and scalability of CBG as a climate and energy solution for India, and we look forward to working together to set new standards for project quality, governance and impact.”
Jirong Lim, Investment Director at Climate Fund Managers, said, “By producing biogas that feeds directly into the gas network, the project supports India’s national objective to reduce reliance on imported natural gas while diversifying the energy mix and improving energy security. Climate Fund Managers’ blended finance approach enables solutions like this to be delivered at commercial scale and replicated across the country.”
Rajkumar Roy, Project Co-Sponsor, added, “This project turns an everyday problem for farmers and sugar mills into a long-term opportunity. By securing feedstock, offtake and high technical standards from the outset, we are building a robust, scalable model for compressed biogas infrastructure in India.”
A community development programme will be developed and implemented in 2026, guided by an independent community needs assessment and expected to focus on areas such as rural development, education or improving the climate resilience of farm-based livelihoods.
