Maruti Suzuki to invest Rs 150 crore in biogas projects

India’s top auto company Maruti Suzuki India has announced two biogas projects worth Rs 150 crore as part of its push toward sustainable manufacturing and cleaner energy use. The announcement, made on the occasion of World Environment Day, underscores the company’s efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and adopt renewable energy solutions across its operations.

The initiatives include setting up a new biogas plant at its Kharkhoda facility in Haryana and expanding the capacity of an existing biogas plant at its Manesar unit. The upcoming Kharkhoda plant will have a processing capacity of 10 tonnes per day and is expected to be commissioned within the current financial year.

At full capacity, it is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 9,490 tonnes annually while meeting about 20 per cent of the plant’s gas requirements.

At the Manesar facility, Maruti Suzuki has increased the capacity of its biogas plant from 0.2 tonnes per day to 0.7 tonnes per day. This expansion is expected to generate approximately 3.6 lakh standard cubic metres of biogas each year and help avoid around 664 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Maruti Suzuki stated that these initiatives align with the government’s ‘Waste-to-Wealth’ mission, focusing on converting agricultural and organic waste into clean energy. The Manesar plant uses feedstock such as food waste, Napier grass, and paddy straw, with the potential to enhance output further using cattle dung. The biogas produced is utilised in paint shop heating and canteen operations.

Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said Maruti Suzuki remains committed to reducing fossil fuel consumption amid global energy uncertainties. He added that such initiatives support national priorities of lowering dependence on imported oil while contributing to environmental sustainability.

In June 2024, the company committed to invest Rs 450 crore in renewable energy initiatives over the next three years.

Similarly, Suzuki Motor Corporation and its Indian subsidiary Suzuki R&D Center India (SRDI) have inaugurated a 1.5 TPD biogas plant at Bhukhala in Banaskantha district of Gujarat. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Banas Milk Union (Banas Dairy) and Suzuki also signed a tripartite agreement to develop a 75 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) biogas plant in again in Banaskantha.