Punjab Renewable Energy looking to raise $6 m for expansion

Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Pvt Ltd (PRESPL), a Mumbai-based biomass supply chain management company, is looking to raise about $6-7 million for expansion in India.

The company is looking at opportunities arising out of bio-refinery plants of national oil marketing companies.

Today, PRESPL is one of the few companies in the country dedicated to biomass supply chain management.

The Director of PRESPL, Retired Indian Army officer, Lt Colonel Monish Ahuja, said that the company had raised Series A funding in September 2013 for a minority stake, without revealing the amount raised. Currently, it is planning Series B funding.

The company had already held many rounds of discussion with PE funds and strategic investors. Investment banking firm Intellecap has been entrusted with the fund raising mandate, Ahuja said.

Five years ago, PRESPL was jointly conceived by Bermaco Group and IL&FS for supporting a biomass-based power project in Punjab.

Bermaco was to be the lead partner and the technology provider, while ILFS was to be the financial partner. However, IL&FS never formally joined the company.

Bermaco Group is a family concern of Ahuja.

At that time Bermaco had two options, either to shut down the operations or continue on its own strength.

It chose to continue the operations as the management took a view that the biomass business will remain a part of the renewable sector.

PRESPL was incorporated in Mumbai but its first plant was in Punjab. Therefore, the name PRESPL stuck with the company.

PRESPL is privately held but investors such as Zurich-based asset management company responsAblity has invested in the company.

Ahuja said that due to PRESPL’s old relations with ILFS it managed to get a contract for supplying biomass for its plant in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

For the last four years, PRESPL has been supplying 70,000 tonnes of biomass of cotton stock on an annual basis.

He pointed that in India agri-waste is only as seen as fuel for burning in a wood stove or a boiler. But the waste can be used for making biofuels, biochemicals, bioplastics and bio-aromatics.

The focus of the biomass industry is shifting towards making these chemicals and supply chain management plays a pivotal role in the manufacturing process.

Globally, there are 80 industries, which use biomass for value added products.

PRESPL with its skills in managing the biomass is uniquely positioned in this space.

Today, PRESPL has developed different business models for using a variety of biomass such as cotton stock, maize residues, rice straw, Juli flora, soya husk and other agro-residues.

The company is not claiming that its models are the best or foolproof but it has developed very robust models, which has provided it a vantage position in the market. It has taken PRESPL five years to develop the models, he said.

“The government is focussed on increasing rural income and one of the ways is by utilising farm waste. Therefore, the attempt is to commodify farm waste, which will provide additional income to the farmers,” Ahuja said.

PRESPL works with 750 village level entrepreneurs, who collect the farm waste and bring it to collection centres.

It provides and manages equipment such as chippers, balers, trolleys and cutters for handling the waste.

Ahuja added that even if the crop fails, the farmer stands to gain because the wasted crop is still used as a biomass by the company.

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