Fuelling a Vision: An Entrepreneur's Journey Through India's Emerging Biodiesel Landscape
Latha Sreeram, Vedant Sankhe, Sandeep Nemlekar, and
Rinku Sharma
Chetana’s Institute of Management & Research, Bandra East, Mumbai, India
Volume 20: 2026, pp. 00-00; ABSTRACT
Founded jointly in Palghar, Mumbai, BioVerda Fuels commissioned a 2KLPD
biodiesel unit in 2016 to produce clean fuel from the waste cooking oil (WCO) and vegetable
oil. Even with India’s favourable biodiesel policy of 5% blending by the year 2030 and a market
set to double from USD 461.6 million in the year 2024 to USD 936.1 million by the year 2033,
the entrepreneurs encountered significant roadblocks. From sourcing specialized machinery, to
obtaining regulatory permits in the face of unclear zoning regulations at the time of inception
and assuring a steady raw material supply were challenging. A crisis in feedstock forced hard
choices between tallow, palm stearin, jatropha, soya bean oil and blended feedstock, trading on
cost, complexities of process, sustainability and cultural acceptability. This situation illustrates
the strategic decision-making under limited resources and time-critical situations for SMEs in
the renewable energy sector.
Keywords: biodiesel, waste cooking oil, feedstock, sustainability, environment.
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