India’s CBG Boom: A Strategic Opportunity for Equipment Suppliers

Biofuels particularly Compressed Biogas (CBG), Ethanol, and Biodiesel positioned as strategic pillars in its transition towards cleaner energy by India. Currently, India has 170 CBG plants in operation and ~250 plants under development against the ambitious target of 5,000 under SATAT initiative, indicating that more than 85-90% of the targeted market is still upcoming, which presents a vast untapped growth landscape. In parallel, India’s strong push for ethanol blending (20% E20 by 2025-26) and biodiesel expansion through UCO-based feedstock procurement is also growing at an accelerating pace.

Why India’s CBG Sector Is Emerging as a High-Growth Market?

India’s CBG sector is entering a phase of rapid expansion, supported by strong government commitment, mandatory CBG blending mandates, and the SATAT programme that envisions thousands of new biogas plants across the country. With rising energy-security needs, CBG has emerged as a clean, domestic substitute for imported CNG, backed by abundant feedstock from agriculture, livestock, food processing and municipal waste. The fast-growing city gas distribution (CGD) network ensures reliable offtake, while improving project economics and strong participation from oil marketing companies are further boosting investor confidence.

In addition, the government has initiated two major measures to further improve project viability: (1) strengthening the pathway for CBG producers to generate and monetise carbon attributes under India’s developing carbon-trading framework, and (2) a MoPNG-led proposal to consolidate CBG policies, approvals and incentive schemes into a single unified National Integrated CBG Promotion Scheme (NICPS).

What is the Gap in India's CBG Landscape

India’s CBG sector faces critical technology gaps across four key areas:

Many early-stage plants continue to depend on basic wet digesters that deliver low methane yields, reduced uptime and higher O&M costs, resulting in inconsistent gas output and elevated operating expenses.
Advanced gas upgrading and purification solutions such as membrane-based separation, multi-bed PSA systems and compact gas cleaning skids capable of efficiently removing H₂S, siloxanes and moisture are still not widely deployed, restricting the ability to consistently produce pipeline-grade biomethane.
Plants struggle to process difficult feedstocks like paddy straw and municipal solid waste due to inadequate pretreatment systems, limited specialized mixing technologies and the scarcity of dry digestion solutions that can effectively handle fibrous, high-solids and heterogeneous material
The ecosystem for high-tech components, system integration and after-sales support, both global and local, remains underdeveloped, leading to dependency on imported equipment and fragmented integration capability.

Collectively, these gaps result in longer commissioning and ramp-up timelines, higher operating costs and persistent maintenance challenges, underscoring the urgent need for technology transfer, equipment localization and deeper collaboration between global technology leaders and Indian manufacturers.

Role of Global Technology Providers: Opportunities in the India’s CBG Landscape

Global technology providers bring three major advantages to India’s growing CBG sector. First, countries with mature biogas industries have suppliers that offer proven designs for high-load digesters, advanced CSTRs and dry-fermentation systems that deliver higher gas yields and reliability compared to many basic systems currently used in India. Second, global firms are leaders in gas-upgrading and purification technologies, including membrane and PSA systems, H₂S and siloxane removal units and integrated upgrading packages that can help Indian developers consistently meet CGD and transport-fuel quality standards. Third, many international players are entering India through partnerships, licensing models and local manufacturing tie-ups that support faster deployment, lower lifecycle costs and stronger long-term O&M capability.

For Europe: With one of the world’s most advanced biogas ecosystems, European providers are especially well positioned to tap into these opportunities.

How can EAC Support Companies in Indian CBG Sector?

EAC has a proven track record in supporting global and European technology providers entering India’s CBG sector. We offer data-backed insights on market size, value-chain assessment, competitive dynamics and the most effective entry models, including joint ventures, licensing and pilot-based approaches. EAC accelerates commercial traction through EPC and developer matchmaking, deal support and contract structuring. We also help companies build localized manufacturing and supply-chain footprints aligned with Make in India priorities, while navigating regulatory requirements such as SATAT, blending mandates and financing frameworks to enable successful market establishment and long-term growth.

Our team of experts Dr. Rajesh Raut and Komal Jha welcomes the opportunity for a detailed discussion with you on this interesting topic.