Nagpur: Varhad Capital has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Velocys to advance a new generation of biomass-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects in India.
The collaboration positions Varhad Capital at the forefront of enabling cost-competitive and scalable SAF production aligned with India’s growing aviation demand and sustainability goals.
The SAF opportunity in India is driven by abundant agricultural residues, rising aviation demand, and strong policy focus on domestic fuel production.
However, the key challenge remains delivering SAF at scale and at a favorable cost. Through this partnership, Varhad Capital aims to address these challenges by combining technological strengths and operational capabilities.
Under the MoU, Varhad Capital and Velocys will engineer and design scalable biomass-to-SAF facilities using indigenous agricultural residues as feedstock.
The collaboration integrates Varhad Capital’s operational gasification platform – currently producing syngas and biochar from agricultural residues – with Velocys’ proven Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology. This combination enables a direct and efficient pathway from biomass to SAF.
The initial phase of the partnership will focus on establishing a scalable hub-and-spoke model for SAF production across India. This model is expected to strengthen decentralized biomass utilization while ensuring efficient fuel production at scale.
Through this initiative, Varhad Capital is working towards enabling Make-In-India SAF that can compete with conventional fuel pathways while delivering strong lifecycle carbon performance.
“With an operating gasification platform already in place, we are moving quickly. Working with Velocys allows us to translate that capability into fuel production through a proven technology that is aligned with favorable market economics,” said Prasad Dahapute, Founder and Managing Director of Varhad Capital.
“This collaboration is about combining two commercially proven technologies in a market where we can streamline biomass-to-fuels production with a technically robust, commercially competitive offering,” said Sachin Joshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Velocys.
Varhad Capital: Biofuel and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Project Development Firm Focused on Sustainable Infrastructure and Energy Transition Opportunities
Varhad Capital is an established biochar CDR project developer under international registries such as Carbon Standard International (Switzerland) and Isometric (UK).
The company has built operational capabilities in biomass conversion, producing syngas and biochar from agricultural residues, and is actively developing scalable pathways for low-carbon fuel production in India.
Velocys is a leading technology innovator and licensor of Fischer-Tropsch systems for producing sustainable fuels from waste, biomass, and CO₂.
Its microFTL technology includes proprietary AlphaCore microchannel reactors and Oxford-engineered SQRCAT catalyst, enabling high-yield, modular production of drop-in fuels for aviation and transport.
