Punjab Renewable Energy Systems (PRESPL), a Mumbai-based biomass energy company, secured a private equity investment for ₹55 crore in series B round funding from Shell, a Netherland headquartered, oil and gas major.
Monish Ahuja, managing director, PRESPL said, “The investment from Shell will be utilised for business expansion in the bio-energy sector and biomass supply chain management space in India.”
Punjab Renewable Energy Systems was founded in 2011. The company has been catering to the biomass requirements of Independent Power Plants (IPPS), Captive and co-generation power plants and industrial process plants.
It is an end-to-end energy solutions company, which has partnered with firms that manufacture biofuels.
Shell, on the other hand, is a British-Dutch oil and gas company, headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. It is a global energy company and around 84,000 employees across more than 70 countries work together to power progress through more and cleaner energy solutions.
It is one of the oil and gas supermajors and the third-largest company in the world measured by 2018 revenues.
“These partnerships help deliver the solutions society will need to meet energy demand while reducing carbon emissions. PRESPL’s biomass collection expertise supports rural development and contributes towards sustainable economic development. Shell is keen to play an active role in the energy transition in India, supporting economic growth with more and cleaner energy solutions,” Nitin Prasad, Chairman, Shell Companies in India, said.
Furthermore, PRESPL has also ventured into value addition activities with a forward integration of businesses such as briquetting, steam energy generation and sale, investment in boiler assets.
The company is actively engaged in the business of biomass to biogas, bio-CNG, and bio-fuel extractions.
Adding on, as per the reports, India produces over 500 million tonnes of surplus biomass every year, most of which is usually burnt in the fields contributing majorly to air pollution. This surplus biomass is the actual renewable (energy) raw material, which is being harnessed for energy by PRESPL.