Written by Dipanita Nath and Ananya Shetty

Earlier this year, as the central government highlighted the progress of biomass projects, it pointed out a key challenge in scaling: aggregating biomass feedstock and ensuring year-round storage. At Pune’s COEP Technological University, four students are confronting the problem with a startup that offers a solution.

Ved Thombre, Chinmay Sardeshmukh, Shrinidhi Katkar, and Akhilesh Manmode, all around 21 years old, started Swastik Eco Energy LLP in February this year to ensure that industries using biomass for fuel generation have an uninterrupted supply of high-quality pellets and briquettes.

Agricultural waste from sugarcane, corn, soya, and sawdust, among other things, is compressed into pellets and briquettes that can be used as fuel in the industry as a substitute for fossil fuels, including coal and wood.

“The supply chain of this product, however, was entirely broken. When we talk about biomass, we are referring to a very unorganised sector as of now. A number of companies have come up to manufacture these pellets and briquettes. On the other hand, industries are not able to get a consistent supply of quality biomass. If a factory runs out of stock one day, it has to approach another biomass supplier. Since the product’s quality depends on the region and the manufacturer, the industry has no guarantee. If the quality of the biomass changes, the efficiency of the boilers in the factories will change because, potentially, the fuel is changing. This was a very big problem,” says Thombre, Chief Executive Officer and Designated Partner of the company.

This Gen Z company decided to streamline the whole supply chain. Their first step was to spend a year in research and study. “We have walked through all the MIDCs, knocked on doors that, often, did not open, and built the company ground up,” says Manmode, the Chief Marketing Officer. He adds that speaking with industries and understanding their fuel requirements convinced the group that biomass was gaining acceptance as a cleaner alternative to conventional fuels.

Now, the startup has contract manufacturers in several states. “Whenever we receive a supply from contract manufacturers, it is tested at our end. All products go to our Pune warehouse in Saswad. This ensures that industries do not wait for supplies from biomass manufacturers, who operate in villages because that is where the raw material is,” says Sardeshmukh, the Chief Operating Officer.

Coinciding with West Asia war

The startup’s arrival coincided with the war in West Asia, which created fuel supply problems. As restaurants struggled to procure commercial LPG cylinders, many turned to the startup for biomass. The company’s long-term focus, however, is on industrial applications.

The young company is fast winning credibility in the industry. “We spend around 16 hours a day working,” says Thombre. Students of a prestigious institution, they are balancing the startup with academics. “Initially, there was resistance from our families and even the college. Once they saw our conviction, our parents helped us with the initial funding, and our college gave us space,” says Katkar, the Chief Financial Officer.

The company has a motive beyond profit: “We see the effects of climate change every day through extreme weather events and changing environmental conditions. Sustainability needs to become part of the way industries operate,” says Thombre.

Ananya Shetty is an intern with The Indian Express, Pune.