LanzaTech Global, Inc (Skokie, Ill.), has been awarded a contract by Spray Engineering Devices Ltd (SED; Mohali, Punjab, India), a leading provider of sustainable energy solutions, to build a next-generation ethanol facility using sugarcane bagasse, a widely available agricultural waste product, for production of sustainable fuels and chemicals.
The facility, projected to process up to 300 tons per day of bagasse, will be in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, and is a key component of the “SED Smart Village” concept. The SED Smart Village framework is designed to capture the full economic value of renewable power and carbon resources. The model anticipates that abundant low-cost power will shift carbon demand toward high-value products like green chemicals, polymers, aviation fuels, and e-fuels. In addition, the LanzaTech project is expected to generate nutrient-rich biochar (5–10%), that can be used in local farming communities to improve soil fertility.
“Modern agriculture is poised for a significant transformation through green solar power and hydrogen, which will create boundless opportunities for rural economies,” said Mr. Vivek Verma, Founder of SED. “India’s year-round solar potential, fertile land, and growing energy demand position it uniquely for a low-cost renewable energy future. As solar, wind, battery, and storage technologies mature, electricity costs are expected to decline significantly, supported by distributed energy storage. The critical element is ensuring biomass processing and nutrient recycling occur locally to preserve soil health and strengthen rural economies. By utilizing non-food agricultural biomass and animal waste as carbon feedstock, we can both decarbonize agriculture and create a sustainable hydrocarbon ecosystem.”
LanzaTech equips industrial facilities with bioreactor hardware that works like a brewery, but instead of using yeast to convert sugar into beer, proprietary microbes convert carbon-rich gases, including CO2 coupled with green H2, to ethanol, a key building block for the production of consumer goods and profitable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (including e-fuels) and renewable diesel.
By leveraging the existing supply chain, the facility will divert bagasse/biomass waste from being burned and enable local production of fuels, chemicals, and raw materials. This innovative approach supports circular economies and helps build a more resilient future for sugarcane-growing communities. The plant is expected to begin operations within two years.
This project will mark one of the first instances of a private company developing an ethanol project, using sugar industry by-product bagasse, under the PM JI-VAN Yojana, an Indian government program designed to support the production of advanced bioethanol from agricultural and other industrial waste.
“Our partnership with SED for this project expands our footprint in India while creating a roadmap for commercial deployment of agricultural residue as a key feedstock for producing ethanol,” said Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech’s CEO and member of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum’s (USISPF)’s Board of Directors. “Waste-based feedstocks can support Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India initiative by boosting the regional domestic manufacture of essential goods and materials.”
In India, LanzaTech’s technology is already deployed at Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat facility using refinery off-gases, the sixth commercial scale plant using LanzaTech’s technology worldwide. A 10 ton per day ethanol production unit by NTPC from waste CO2 and green H2 is under advanced stage of execution at NTPC’s Pudimadaka site in Andhra Pradesh.