About NobleExchange
Pune Plant

Pune Plant

NobleExchange is a leader in Anaerobic Digestion organic food waste processing. The company was established in 2013 and has been producing high-quality biogas and organic fertiliser since 2015. A Concession Agreement with Pune Municipal Corporation was signed during February 2015 and the plant started commercial operations within a short span of 9 months i.e. Indian Oil Corporation has set up India’s first CBG fuel station to retail NobleExchange CBG and sales commenced in September 2019. NobleExchange was also awarded a Concession Agreement by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation for pickup-transport-process of food waste from bulk generators; that contributes additional 50 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) feedstock for NobleExchange Pune plant.

Bangalore Plant

A concession agreement with 250 Tonnes per Day (TPD) plant was awarded by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) and phase one of project with 100 tonnes/day capacity is 6 months away from commission.

Bangalore Plant

NobleExchange has successfully developed technology to deal with Indian food waste, which is unique in composition. A high concentration of antibacterial ingredients like turmeric & spices, difficult to digest components like oils and grease, citrus materials like lime, etc. render Indian food waste very challenging for breakdown using conventional enzymes and culture. The NobleExchange team has through years of research and experience successfully developed enzymes, cultures, and processes to deal with the complex Indian food chain. This gives NobleExchange an edge over other general biogas companies. As a result, the NobleExchange plant & process delivers over 100scm biogas per ton of food waste vs. the conventional industry standard of 85scm biogas per ton. The NobleExchange plant operations are agnostic to outside temperature or seasonal change of composition of food waste - another particularly challenging obstacle for general biogas companies.

With two of India’s largest food waste to Bio CBG plants operating under a build-own-operate model, NobleExchange has carved a unique niche for itself in the bio-energy market in the country and has a huge early mover advantage in a relatively unorganised, fast growing market. Its focus on urban local bodies and urban waste sets it apart from most other Indian biogas companies, which are focused on agricultural or distillery waste in the rural sector. This also provides NobleExchange with a firm foothold in a source of waste that is likely to grow much faster than other operators.

Today NobleExchange is one of only three players in the high-potential Indian market with demonstrated technology and regulatory management with the potential to create hundreds of new jobs and generate a significant amount of renewable energy while solving a major environmental problem.

NobleExchange is housed at the National Chemical Laboratories Innovation Park, NobleExchange was awarded an incubatee status at the park via a competitive process in recognition of its pioneering work on a much-neglected technology and the potential impact of its work on the social, environmental, and economic well-being of the country. A place in the prestigious NCL Innovation Park provides NobleExchange with a valuable network, which includes a plug-in into Government directives, incentive schemes, joint research, and the agglomeration benefit of proximity to other technology-driven companies.

Government initiatives like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Smart Cities, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat have only brought to prominence the work done by NobleExchange and are providing a unique opportunity to rapidly scale operations by targeting large metro cities through specific attention from all levels of the Indian government. For example, NobleExchange’s plant is regularly visited for study by several policy making bodies like NITI Aayog, Petroleum Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Petroleum Conservation Cell, amongst others, which provides further contacts that can translate into expansion opportunities. NobleExchange founder has been nominated as a member of the Task Force on Bio Fuel formed by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) that works in tandem with policy makers in the country.

Over the past 4 years, NobleExchange has been working closely with local government authorities in two Indian cities - Pune in Maharashtra and Bengaluru in Karnataka - to understand their issues related to waste disposal. Municipal Corporations generally are supported by a Technical Advisory Group that is drawn from the industry and academia of the city.

SWM Rules 2019 make it mandatory for bulk generators to segregate waste at source and hold them accountable for processing / disposal of organic waste generated by them. After due diligence on the needs of the institutional bulk generators of organic waste; and after extensive consultations with the municipal authorities in both cities, NobleExchange has successfully bagged long-term contracts and has set up food waste - CBG projects in both cities, as follows:

(In Bengaluru, NobleExchange has a unique tri-partite agreement with the hotel association and the Municipal Corporation whereby it provides turnkey service of door-to-door food waste pick-up, transport and process to members of the hotel association on a ‘shared services, paid for’ / 'polluter pay’ model)

TitleProject IProject II
LocationPune (MH)Bengaluru (KA)
FeedstockMSW (organic food waste)MSW (organic food waste)
Plant Capacity350 Tonnes Per Day (TPD)250 Tonnes Per Day (TPD)
OutputBio CNGBio CNG
Production Capacity17500 Kgs / Day12500 Kgs / Day

Both cities represent an important part of the urban Indian conglomerate and have abundance of MSW. Pune generates around 2000 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) and Bengaluru generates around 6500 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) of MSW with organic waste contributing over 55% volume.

Major Breakthrough

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recognized CBG as a modern bio fuel under the Bio Fuels Policy of India 2019 and simultaneously launched a nationwide program in association with all major oil and CGD companies – SATAT (Sustainable Alternate to Affordable Transport). The Ministry’s ambitious plan is for the production of 15 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of CBG from 5000 plants by 2025. NobleExchange intends to position itself to capture a 1% share of this market as a starting point and thereafter to position itself to maintain a market leader role.

Lending for CBG projects is now classified as a priority sector under a notification from the Reserve Bank of India which means the tenure of loan can be 12-15 years & interest rate @ PLR (Prime Lending Rate) + 2%. NobleExchange is in talks with 3 major banks for financing to support this expansion.

The Central Government’s Municipal Solid Waste Policy 2019 has recognised Bio Methanation as the most ideal technology for processing organic waste and mandated source segregation of wet and dry waste, thus ensuring vast availability of segregated food / organic waste. SWM rules have also adopted the 'polluter pay’ principal for bulk generators like star hotels, restaurants, modern retail, etc. This creates a direct opportunity for NobleExchange to enter, in major metro cities, into tri-partite agreements of the sort it has already used in conjunction with its Bangalore operations.