Green Energy

Oil India to set up biogas plant on IIT Kharagpur campus

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oil India Limited (OIL) to establish a Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant on its campus, marking a key step towards sustainable waste management and clean energy adoption.

The institute announced that the agreement was formalised during India Energy Week 2026 in Goa. The MoU was signed by Prof. Brajesh Dubey, Dean, Campus & Community Development, IIT Kharagpur and Ranjan Goswami, Executive Director (Business Development), Oil India Ltd, in the presence of senior officials from OIL and its renewable energy arm, OIL Green Energy Ltd.

Under the new deal, IIT Kharagpur will develop an integrated waste-to-energy system aimed at converting campus biowaste into CBG for energy use, along with nutrient-rich organic manure. The initiative is expected to help address challenges related to solid waste management, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil health, while promoting circular economy practices within an urban township setting.

Beyond infrastructure development, the project will also serve as a “living laboratory” to support academic research, technology development, skill building and entrepreneurship in areas such as waste segregation, resource recovery, process optimisation, and circular economy business models.

The official statement held that the initiative is aligned with India’s energy transition and net-zero goals —supported by the leadership of Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur, and Dr Ranjith Rath, Chairman and Managing Director, Oil India Limited—aims to create a scalable and replicable model for urban campuses and townships across India and other developing regions.

In the past one year, Oil India announced investments in the twin Odisha cities of Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack for the development of biogas projects. It will invest Rs 150 crore in Cuttack CBG plant that will handle 200 TPD of organic waste. It will be building a plant of similar capacity in Bhubaneshwar too.

Subhash Yadav

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