LT Foods joins forces with HKG for developing biomass plants in India

LT Foods has joined forces with Humankind Group (HKG), USA for developing commercial-scale biomass plants in India under the company’s environment sustainability program.

The Indian consumer food company, which owns the DAAWAT basmati rice brand, said that the biomass plants will recycle rice paddy straw into green energy and bio-fertilizer.

V K Arora – Chairman of LT Foods said: “LT Foods focuses on best business practices and processes for Environment, Social, and Economic Sustainability. This proposed Project aligns well with LT Foods’s on-going farmer engagement and environment programs along with its sustainability initiatives.”

The technology to be used for the rice straw waste conversion to energy has been tested in Punjab, where a biomass plant has been operating successfully since 2018. After a successful demonstration of the first two plants, Humankind Group is looking to help scale up the number of plants to 130 across India in the next 10 years in partnership with the Biomass India Partnership.

LT Foods joins forces with HKG for developing biomass plants in India. Photo courtesy of David Mark from Pixabay.

Humankind Group had co-founded Biomass India alongside NL Works, the Embassy of the Netherlands, FMO, and Grameena Vikas Kendram Society for Rural Development (GVK Society).

LT Foods said that Humankind Group had proposed its name to become its local partner for the first commercial-scale biomass plat.

The consumer food company expects to play a key role via its local footprint, expertise in rice farming, and a huge farmer network across major basmati rice growing areas.

Both LT Foods and Humankind Group intend to advance the partnership and enable the local ownership of the first biomass plant.

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) has sanctioned a grant of €350,000 for Humankind Group as part of a development package of €1.5 million to get ready for the construction of two biomass plants in India.

After the completion of the project development phase, the DFCD is likely to invest nearly €20 million in debt and equity for financing the construction of the two biomass plants.

Ken Hollen – President of Humankind Group said: “HKG believes the program it is developing in collaboration with LT Foods, DFCD & other participants have the potential to contribute importantly to the development of a new industry in India that will enable the country to use its agricultural resources towards a more sustainable future, large scale reduction in CO2 emission and other important development impacts.”