CBG blending mandate needs to come with formal structuring and certification program– Mahesh Girdhar, CEO, EverEnviro

1. The mandate for blending Compressed Biogas (CBG) with natural gas has come into effect this month. How do you view this development from an industry perspective?

Mahesh Girdhar: This CBG blending phase will create a ‘pull’ which is most important. So, with whatever number plants that are coming up, I think industry will be able to supply the blending mandate of 1-5% round the clock. What we want is that this blending mandate should be formally structured and announced. There should be a pull creation in it. At the same time, we want to have a very clear cut pipeline layout. These two will work hand in hand. Blending mandate will really work if we have a renewable gas certificate program. If you have any compliance, the blending mandate is enhancing that compliance. In order for compliance to work, we need to create clear guidelines on green credits. If there are clear cut guidelines coming on the green credits, this would further enhance the revenue streams of the CBG (compressed biogas) plants.  The plants currently have two revenue streams – CBG and fertilizers. Hon’ble Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that there is another possibility in the form of bio-bitumen.

At the same time, a compliance market driven by the blending mandate will create demand. We are waiting to see how this blending mandate takes shape and enhances the revenue potential of CBG plants.

2. With demand now picking up due to recent policy measures, how do you see the performance of EverEnviro evolving from here on?

Mahesh Girdhar: We will not find any demand issue because many of our plants are in cities where there is an established market. The key question for us now is to ramp up the plants to the target level. This is a nascent industry and we are very happy that we are operating India’s largest CBG project in Indore; we are already producing 90% of the capacity. And we didn’t find any demand issues there. Demand is more needed to be driven in the rural parts of India where paddy based projects and likewise will gain from the blending mandate.

3. The supply-side constraints of raw materials remain a significant challenge. What strategies would you suggest to address this?

Mahesh Girdhar: EverEnviro has created village level entrepreneurs and for the last two years we have been working on this front. For example, in Punjab we have two paddy based projects – Patiala and Singrur. In these, we have created 104 village level entrepreneurs. We enable them with finance and equipments. They are working with farmers and dedicatedly procuring paddy straw for us. These entrepreneurs are people from villages only. They are operating harvesters and doing fertilizer sales. We have given them additional revenue opportunities. They are able to connect with farmers and we give them guaranteed offtake. We are able to create new opportunities & new jobs. We believe that creating cluster approaches through village level entrepreneurs help channelize biomass. Many schemes are already there by the Government of India – for example there is BAM (Biomass Aggregation Machinery) Scheme for machinery support. Industry should use these and create village level entrepreneurs.

4. What policy recommendations would you suggest to accelerate the growth and development of the CBG industry?

Mahesh Girdhar: See overall the economic viability of the CBG projects is important. Industry needs initial support like better CBG pricing, offtake of FOM and beyond. CBG plants are not just energy plants but multi-dimensional. They are producing soil health ingredients – FOM – reducing pollution, creating jobs for locals and transforming waste-to-wealth. They are not just bio-energy plants but ‘Circular Economy Plants.’ We need to see from government perspective & industry perspective the overall impact we are going to create through CBG plants on overall circular economy systems.

About 70% of Indian soils have much lower organic carbon. Owing to rampant chemical fertilizers’ use over the last 50 years, very little carbon has gone into the soil. From waste now we have the opportunity to extract methane, produce CBG and bio-fertilizer. Our FOM sales business is growing because our plants are in the ramp-up phase. We have created our own channel & network but things take time. In each plant we are generating 30-40 tonnes of FOM. We are working with farmers in terms of educating them, training them and making them more aware about FOM.

5. What are the performance expectations or growth projections for EverEnviro in the 2025–26 fiscal year?

Mahesh Girdhar: EverEnviro is definitely growing because we have already set-up plants of about 78 tonnes per day capacity and we are ramping-up fast. We are also increasing our sales revenue from FOM.

6. What advice would you offer to young professionals or aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the CBG industry or supply chain?

Mahesh Girdhar: My advice for them is that they need to work on a model with cost consciousness. In the end, those who will bring efficiency will survive. Go for a cluster approach, go for a focused approach and go for cost-viability approach.