One district, four residue streams, a fuel the world is short of.
The project converts agricultural residue — sugarcane bagasse, cotton stalks, soybean husk and pigeon pea waste — into aviation-grade sustainable fuel using internationally certified conversion technologies. It is being developed at Chalisgaon in Jalgaon district, in the Khandesh region of northern Maharashtra.
The memorandum of understanding with the Government of Maharashtra was formalised on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2026. It is expected to support over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.4
Development is structured in phases through 2029. That sequencing is deliberate: it lets capital be deployed against proven milestones, gives the feedstock supply chain time to mature ahead of full capacity, and keeps technology and market risk contained at each step rather than concentrated on a single start-up date.
Site rationale
Why Chalisgaon.
Siting a biomass-fed plant is decided by haulage economics before anything else. Chalisgaon sits inside its own catchment, on established rail and road corridors, in a district with the workforce to build and run the asset.
Feedstock
Cane, cotton, soybean and pulse residue available within economic collection radius across Jalgaon, Dhule, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts.
Rail
Chalisgaon Junction sits on the Central Railway Mumbai–Bhusawal trunk route, with a branch line into the Khandesh interior.
Road
Highway corridors toward Dhule and the Mumbai–Agra route, Nashik, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.5
Ports
Road and rail access to Maharashtra's west coast port infrastructure for equipment import and export optionality.
People
A construction and operations workforce that can be recruited and skilled locally rather than imported.
Development plan
Phased through 2029.
Indicative sequencing. Each phase is gated on approvals, contracting and the performance of the phase before it.3
Phase 0 · Definition and de-risking
Detailed project report, land assembly, environmental and statutory clearances, technology and licensor selection, feedstock catchment study, front-end engineering design, and structuring of financing ahead of a final investment decision.
Phase 1 · First train
EPC award and site mobilisation, utilities and offsites, biomass reception and preparation infrastructure, and construction of the first conversion and synthesis train. Feedstock aggregation and farmer contracting run in parallel.
Phase 2 · First fuel
Mechanical completion, commissioning and performance testing, fuel certification and release to specification, and first deliveries under initial offtake agreements.
Phase 3 · Full capacity
Expansion trains commissioned against contracted feedstock and offtake, supply chain scaled across the catchment, and the asset moved into steady-state operation.
Workstreams
What gets built before anything is built.
01 / Statutory
Approvals & land
Land assembly, state industrial approvals, environmental clearance, consent to establish, water and power allocation, and aviation fuel regulatory compliance.
02 / Technology
Licensor selection
Evaluation of certified residue-to-jet pathways, process guarantees, licence terms and the basic engineering interface with the EPC contractor.
03 / Feedstock
Supply chain
Catchment mapping, farmer and FPO contracting, collection and densification yards, transport contracts, and quality control at the plant gate.
04 / Commercial
Offtake
Long-term agreements with airlines, fuel suppliers and traders, plus the sustainability certification that makes volumes claimable under CORSIA.2
05 / Financing
Capital structure
Equity, project debt and development finance, structured against phased milestones with lender-grade technical and environmental and social due diligence.
06 / Community
Local participation
Skilling programmes with local institutions, local procurement and hiring commitments, and engagement and grievance mechanisms.
Memorandum of understanding stage.
The MoU establishes intent and the framework for state support. It is not a construction contract. Land, clearances, technology, offtake and financing are all in development, and the project proceeds to construction only after a final investment decision. We report progress against those workstreams as it is made.
- 1.The ₹15,000 crore figure is the investment quantum stated in the memorandum of understanding signed with the Government of Maharashtra in January 2026. Deployment is phased and subject to a final investment decision.
- 2.ASTM D7566 pathway certification, CORSIA eligibility and ISCC or RSB sustainability certification are design objectives, to be pursued through accredited bodies. No certification is held at present.
- 3.Phase sequencing and the 2029 commissioning target are indicative and gated on statutory approvals, land, technology and licensor selection, feedstock contracting, offtake and financing.
- 4.Employment of over 3,000 direct and indirect roles is an indicative estimate across the project life.
- 5.Distances are approximate road distances to regional centres, shown for orientation only. Site logistics will be confirmed in the detailed project report.