JICA welcomes Neev II Fund backed GPS Renewables and Sojitz Partnership for green biomethane projects in India

Mumbai, 30 April 2025: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) welcomes that Japanese trading house Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz) invests in a holding structure of the special purpose company, IOC GPS Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (IGPL) established jointly by GPS Renewables Private Limited. (GPSR) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), the largest state-owned oil company in India, which designs, constructs, operates, and provides maintenance for biomethane plants in India. Through this investment, Sojitz will enter the biomethane production and sales business in India.

JICA has invested in the SVL-SME Fund (commonly known as Neev II Fund), whose fund manager is SBI Ventures Limited (SVL), part of State Bank of India (SBI) group, as one of the largest limited partners in December 2021. Neev II Fund invested in GPSR in March 2022. The signing ceremony of this investment was held at the office of SVL in Mumbai.

At present, India is reliant on fossil fuels such as coal and oil for approximately 70% of its energy consumption, and the country faces issues such as ensuring energy security and addressing air pollution from the practice of burning agricultural waste residues. The Indian government is promoting the spread of biomethane and other biofuels produced domestically from agricultural waste to increase the country’s energy self-sufficiency rate.

Speaking of this occasion, Mr. TAKEUCHI Takuro, Chief Representative, JICA India, stated, "JICA is committed to supporting the development of green bioenergy technologies. This collaboration between GPSR and Sojitz exemplifies the India - Japan cooperation needed to address climate change and promote sustainable growth. JICA will continuously support this partnership and looking forward to delivering the impact brought JICA - Neev Fund co-creation platform."

IGRPL will work on the development and operation of a biomethane production and sales business using feedstock such as agricultural waste. Through this business, IGRPL plans to have 30 biomethane plants operational in India by FY2026 - FY2027, producing and selling 160,000 tons of biomethane annually. These projects have a total outlay of over USD 400 Mil leveraging GPSR’s expertise in biomethane production. Sojitz will work to expand biomethane production and sales business, utilizing GPSR technology to other regions and assess opportunities for expansion into other bioenergy businesses in India and beyond.