Greenjoules, a Pune-based renewable fuels company, has raised Rs 150 crore in a Series B round to build a new plant that turns farm waste into fuel. The round was co-led by Amazon’s Smbhav Venture Fund and Climate Pledge Fund, with Rainmatter and Singularity’s Strategic Autonomy Fund taking part.
What the new plant will do
The money will fund a new plant at Khed City near Pune with capacity to produce 200,000 litres of biocrude a day from agricultural waste. The facility will be built in phases from 2027. Once complete, the company expects it to be the largest plant of its kind in India.
Alongside the equity round, Greenjoules has secured a Rs 100 crore loan from the Technology Development Board, which works under the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology. Together, the equity and the loan take the total financing for the expansion to Rs 250 crore.
A round that was already under way
The Series B did not start this week. Filings reported in August showed Amazon had already put Rs 45 crore into the round and Singularity Rs 17 crore. The announcement this week closes the round at Rs 150 crore, with Rainmatter joining the two early backers.
Greenjoules last raised in 2021, when Blue Ashva Capital led a 4.5 million dollar Series A in a mix of debt and equity. Blue Ashva remains the company’s largest shareholder. The Technology Development Board also backed the company’s biofuel project in June this year.
From paddy straw to diesel
Greenjoules uses a proprietary thermocracking process that turns farm residues into biocrude, which is then refined into renewable diesel and bionaphtha. Its feedstocks include rice husk, sugarcane press mud and paddy straw. The company has demonstrated the process on nearly 40 different feedstocks.
The fuel is a drop-in replacement for diesel, which means it can run in existing vehicles and fuel infrastructure without modification. It meets BIS 1460, the Indian diesel standard, and surpasses Euro VI norms. The process was developed and tested at the company’s commercial biorefinery in Chakan near Pune.
The Chakan plant already serves enterprise customers, and the company’s site names L’Oréal, Croda, Unilever, Cisco, Amazon and Reliance among them. Its fuel carries ISCC Biocircular certification for a third consecutive year. The company says two new plants are under way.
Why the investors backed it
Amazon framed the investment as part of a wider push to decarbonise long-haul transport. Its India operations chief said the funding would support renewable fuels made from farm residue, with the potential to cut emissions, improve air quality and strengthen India’s energy security.
“Decarbonising long-haul transportation will require simultaneous investments in railways, alternative fuels and electric mobility. Our investment in Greenjoules is part of this broader effort. This initiative is aimed at supporting the development and scale-up of renewable fuels made from agricultural residue, with the potential to reduce emissions, improve air quality and contribute to India’s energy security.”
Abhinav Singh, Vice-President, Amazon Operations, Amazon India, APAC, Middle East and Türkiye
Rainmatter and Singularity pointed to the same thing, a process proven in a working plant. Rainmatter’s Abhinav Negi said the company had spent years getting a hard process right in a real plant, and the result was a fuel that works and a business that sells it.
“Greenjoules has spent years getting a hard process right in a real plant rather than on a slide, and the result is a fuel that works and a business that sells it. That patience is what Rainmatter looks for, and we are glad to stand behind the company as it builds at Khed.”
Abhinav Negi, Rainmatter
Singularity’s Suyash Kela tied the deal to energy security. He said India should convert what it has in abundance into what it needs, and Greenjoules had built a process that does exactly that and proven it in a plant that runs every day.
“India’s energy security will come from converting what the country has in abundance into what it needs. Greenjoules has built a process that does exactly that and proven it in a plant that runs every day. That is the kind of capability the Strategic Autonomy Fund exists to back.”
Suyash Kela, Singularity
The founders behind the fuel
Greenjoules was founded in 2018 by S Viraraghavan, V Radhika, VS Shridhar and R Sethunath. Shridhar serves as chief executive. Viraraghavan, an IIM Kolkata graduate, left a 29-year corporate career at companies including Godrej, Cargill and Pepsi to start the company.
Shweta Viraraghavan, a co-founder and the chief technology officer, leads the product and research work. She said the team spent more than six years proving that low-energy-density farm waste and specification-grade fuel were one and the same.
“With the concept proven and partners such as TDB and our Series B investors behind us, we are ready to make a deep impact on the global energy market, and to carry that pioneering spirit into sustainable aviation fuel, green hydrogen and sustainable materials.”
Shweta Viraraghavan, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Greenjoules
What comes next
Beyond the Khed City plant, Greenjoules plans to extend its technology into sustainable aviation fuel and green hydrogen. India imports more than 80 percent of the crude oil it consumes, so a domestic fuel made from farm waste speaks directly to that dependence.
Sourcing crop residue from farmers could give them an extra source of income while cutting the burning of farm waste. The company says the new plant will be built in phases, so the capacity of 200,000 litres a day is a target for the completed plant rather than output today.
