Varhad Capital, Velocys strive for cost competitive biomass-to-SAF projects in India

Sustainable fuel technology provider Velocys and Varhad Capital Pvt Ltd (Varhad), an India-based Biofuel and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) project development company, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance a new generation of biomass-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects in India.

The SAF opportunity in India is driven by abundant agricultural residues, rapidly growing aviation demand, and policy focus on domestic production. The challenge lies in delivering SAF at a favorable cost and scale.

Under the MOU, the companies will engineer and design scalable biomass-to-SAF facilities using indigenous agricultural residues as feedstock. The collaboration combines Varhad’s existing operational gasification platform, already producing syngas and biochar from agricultural residues, with Velocys’ proven Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology, enabling a direct and efficient pathway from biomass to SAF.

As per the official statement, the initial projects will establish a scalable hub-and-spoke model for SAF production in India.

The ultimate objective is to produce Make-In-India SAF that can compete with conventional pathways on cost while achieving strong lifecycle carbon performance.

“With an operating gasification platform already in place, we are moving quickly. Working with Velocys allows us to translate that capability into fuel production through a proven technology that is aligned with favorable market economics,” said Prasad Dahapute, Founder and Managing Director of Varhad.

“This collaboration is about combining two commercially proven technologies in a market where we can streamline biomass-to-fuels production with a technically robust, commercially competitive offering,” said Sachin Joshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Velocys.

About Companies

Varhad Capital is an India-based Biofuel and CDR project development firm focused on sustainable infrastructure and energy transition opportunities. Velocys is a leading technology innovator and licensor of Fischer-Tropsch systems to produce sustainable fuels from waste, biomass, and CO₂.