Collaboration combines operational gasification and proven Velocys technology to deliver cost-competitive sustainable aviation fuel production in India
Houston and Nagpur, India — April 6, 2026 — Velocys, a leading sustainable fuel technology provider, and Varhad Capital Pvt Ltd (Varhad), an India-based biofuel and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project development company, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance a new generation of Make-In-India biomass-to-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) projects.
India represents one of the most compelling emerging markets for SAF production globally, driven by abundant agricultural residues, rapidly growing aviation demand, and increasing policy focus on domestic fuel production. The opportunity is clear, but success will depend on delivering SAF at a cost and scale that the market can sustain.
This collaboration is designed to meet that challenge.
Under the MOU, Velocys and Varhad will engineer and develop scalable biomass-to-SAF facilities using indigenous agricultural residues as feedstock. The projects will build on Varhad’s existing operational gasification platform, which is already producing syngas and biochar, and integrate Velocys’ proven Fischer–Tropsch (FT) technology to enable a direct, efficient pathway from biomass to liquid fuels.
The initial developments are expected to establish a hub-and-spoke model for SAF production in India, enabling distributed deployment closer to feedstock sources and reducing feedstock logistics costs, a key factor in achieving cost competitiveness in the Indian market.
The collaboration is focused on delivering Make-In-India SAF production that can compete with — and in many cases outperform — conventional pathways on cost, while also achieving strong lifecycle carbon intensity performance.
“With an operating gasification platform already in place, we are moving quickly,” said Prasad Dahapute, Founder and Managing Director of Varhad. “Working with Velocys allows us to translate that capability into fuel production through a proven technology that is aligned with favorable market economics.”
“India’s SAF opportunity is significant, but it requires solutions that are both technically robust and commercially disciplined,” said Sachin Joshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Velocys. “This collaboration is about combining proven technologies in a way that simplifies the pathway from biomass to fuel and enables projects that are both scalable and economically competitive.”
Velocys’ Fischer–Tropsch technology has been demonstrated at commercial scale and is designed for modular deployment, allowing projects to be developed at sizes aligned with available feedstock. This approach supports faster project development timelines and capital-efficient deployment, which is particularly important in markets like India where biomass resources are widely distributed.
Together, Velocys and Varhad aim to establish a scalable model for biomass-to-SAF production in India, supporting the country’s ambitions for energy security, rural value creation, and aviation decarbonisation.
About Varhad Capital Pvt Ltd
Varhad Capital is an India-based biofuel and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project development firm focused on sustainable infrastructure and energy transition opportunities. The company is an established biochar CDR project developer under international registries such as Carbon Standard International (Switzerland) and Isometric (UK), and has operational capability in biomass conversion, producing syngas and biochar from agricultural residues.
Website: www.varhad.in
About Velocys
Velocys is a leading technology innovator and licensor of Fischer-Tropsch systems to produce sustainable fuels from waste, biomass, and CO₂. Its microFTL™ technology includes proprietary AlphaCore™ microchannel reactors and Oxford-engineered SQRCAT™ catalyst, enabling high-yield, modular production of drop-in fuels for aviation and transport.
Website: www.velocys.com