The joint venture, Arcistar Bioenergy Pvt Ltd, will initially invest around ₹50 crore to establish a demonstration project in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district
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At present India’s CBG market is valued at approximately ₹8,000-9,000 croreInfistar Renewables Pvt Ltd on Friday said it has entered into an exclusive joint venture with Finland’s Arciplug Oy to manufacture factory-built modular plug-flow reactors for small compressed biogas (CBG) plants, targeting a segment the partners expect to see strong growth as India scales up domestic production of green fuels.The joint venture, Arcistar Bioenergy Pvt Ltd, will initially invest around ₹50 crore to establish a demonstration project in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district and plans to market modular reactors for CBG plants with methane production capacities of less than three tonnes per day.The company is targeting MSMEs and private sector developers and aims to sell about 150 modular reactors across India over the next five years. “Compressed biogas, a replacement for imported LNG, is emerging as one of the country’s promising sectors.Today, India’s CBG market is valued at approximately ₹8,000-9,000 crore and we believe this market is going to rise to ₹25,000-30,000 crore by 2032,” Suhrid V Sarabhai, Chairman and Managing Director of Infistar Group, told the businessline.Conventional CBG projectsAccording to the company, factory-built modular plants can be commissioned in four to five months, significantly lower than the 12-18 months typically required for conventional CBG projects. The plug-flow technology is designed to improve project economics by delivering 20-50per cent higher methane yields while consuming 30-35 per cent less electricity.When Napier grass is used as feedstock, the anaerobic digestion process does not require water, reducing both operating costs and freshwater consumption. The modular plants are designed to process more than 100 types of feedstock, including agricultural residues, municipal solid waste, paddy straw, press mud, cotton residue, fruit and vegetable waste, poultry litter and fish waste, enabling deployment across industrial, municipal and agricultural applications.Arciplug will hold a 47 per cent stake in the joint venture, with the remaining equity owned by Infistar Renewables. “It is a patented technology proven in Europe and in India,” said Jari Valtanen, Vice President of Arciplug Oy, adding that the reactors are designed for an operating life of around 30 years.Compressed biogasThe demonstration project in Gandhinagar will be developed on about 60 acres under a circular economy model, with Napier grass cultivated on-site as feedstock, captive solar power meeting the plant’s energy requirements and organic fertilizer produced as a by-product. The compressed biogas generated at the facility is proposed to be supplied to the local city gas distributor under a 15-year offtake arrangement.Sarabhai said around 99 per cent of the plant’s components would be sourced domestically, with only the automation hardware being imported. The company expects the factory-built modular format will make smaller CBG projects commercially viable for a wider base of customers, particularly MSMEs and private enterprises that have so far found conventional biogas plants capital-intensive and time-consuming to execute.Published on July 31, 2026
