Future of Single Use Plastics – Conflict between Policy and Practices

Startup Mantra: Converting agrowaste into

energy through innovative means
BySalil Urunkar
Feb 24, 2024 06:46 AM IST

HAB Biomass mobile unit transforms agrowaste into biomass briquettes providing
sustainable solution to waste management and energy production challenges
Pune: The disposal of agricultural waste through burning poses a
significant environmental challenge, contributing to air pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, industries and power generation
sectors rely heavily on coal and firewood for combustion, exacerbating
environmental degradation and resource depletion. Krunal Japtap, a young
mechanical engineer from Pune, along with his mother Sheetal Jagtap, felt
the urgent need for sustainable alternatives that would mitigate
environmental impact while meeting energy demands.

HAB Biomass mobile unit transforms agrowaste into biomass briquettes providing sustainable
solution to waste management and energy production challenges. (Shutterstock (PIC FOR
REPRESENTATION))
Krunal founded HAB Biomass, a startup aimed at converting agrowaste
into energy through innovative means. HAB Biomass offers a mobile unit
designed to efficiently transform agrowaste into biomass briquettes,
providing a sustainable solution to both waste management and energy

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Future of Single Use Plastics – Conflict between Policy and Practices

production challenges. By harnessing agricultural residues and converting

them into clean energy sources, HAB Biomass strives to reduce
dependence on traditional fossil fuels, mitigate environmental pollution,
and promote sustainable development.
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Rural connection
Hailing from village Markal, about 30 kilometres from Pune city, Krunal
studied at Priyadarshini High School in Bhosari and chose to pursue
mechanical engineering at MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi.
Krunal said, “I come from a modest family background and hence the first
skill I developed during my school and college days was to reach out to the
teacher or the best person in that subject domain and get all doubts
cleared. Getting placed for a job through college was a big deal for me, but
life had some other plans. I was unhappy with the job profile which the
edu-tech company offered me at Mumbai. After discussing the issue with
family members, professors, and teachers, they supported me in my
decision to quit the job. Startup was not a craze then, and it was a very
tough decision for me to start business without any kind of prior
experience.”
“Since I was close to natural resources since my childhood, I noticed that a
lot of buildings are coming up in rural places. With these new buildings, the
number of old cow sheds were reducing. Hence, I decided to visit all
existing cow sheds and enquire with the owners about what they did with
the manure. I also visited the agricultural commissioner’s office where I
met the officer who informed me about the vermicompost projects. I
decided to start with a traditional business of vermicompost which
converts infertile land into fertile one. While I started selling this
vermicompost to farmers, one of my early mentors advised me to reach
out to farmer organisations and work on the packaging aspect of the
product. This value addition helped me sell the same product at 5x price.
With these early entrepreneurial lessons, I then diversified my market by
including balcony or terrace gardening segment. I started pitching premium
packaging to this segment and nurseries in cities like Pune, Mumbai. We
also started exporting vermicompost to countries like Qatar and were
among very few companies which did so,” Krunal said.

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Supply chain understanding

Drawing lessons from his first venture, Krunal also did his MBA externally
and got information about online marketplaces and their business models.
“The vermicompost business was doing well, but I started thinking about its
scalability. Can I do that business in Mumbai, New York, or Delhi? The
answer was in negative, and hence I started from ground zero again.
Talking with farmers, observing, and understanding the local market, going
to big cities like Mumbai and understanding business models there helped
me gain insights. While traveling in rural and urban areas I came across a
problem. Farmers were burning post-harvest agricultural waste and some
farm labourers also used to get injured as burning the residue is an
uncontrolled activity. The fires also caused losses to neighbourhood
farmers,” Krunal said.
“I started looking for solutions and noticed that some people were making
disposable plates and cups from the residue. Some companies were making
pellets and briquettes, however, they were not profitable due to logistical
issues. I understood the supply chain issues faced by the players. The
agrowaste was high in volume but low in weight. Companies were paying
for 10-tonne capacity trucks, but only 2-tonne material could be
accommodated in the vehicle. Farmers were not involved in this process
and were unaware of these problems,” he said.
Empowering farmers
Krunal thought of a solution which will empower farmers, help them earn
from agricultural waste, create local employment especially for female farm
labourers, cut down environmental pollution, and benefit industries by
reducing logistical costs and procure good quality biofuels. Using his
mechanical engineering knowledge, Krunal decided to make a machine and
approached some experts in Denmark who were working in bio-coal and
biomass pellets. Meanwhile, just before Covid-19 pandemic struck, India
was also going through a coal crisis. Industrial coal supply was being cutoff
and that gave an impetus to Krunal’s second venture of making biomass
pellets and briquettes.
Krunal said, “I felt appreciated when I got selected for a Stanford
programme and later when I won the AYEL (Dr Ambedkar Young
Entrepreneur League) National Award in Delhi. I realised that this field is
something that holds value. This validation also helped me explore and
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Future of Single Use Plastics – Conflict between Policy and Practices

realise that the problems faced by farmers is similar across all regions of
India. That is when I also learned about the carbon credits. Later, I got
incubated at College of Engineering, Pune’s (COEP) BHAU Institute and got
selected at Cornell Maha 60 programme for startups.”
“Industries need fuel for boilers and biofuels cost less, emit 57 per cent
lesser CO2 and the raw material was available locally. I had developed a
mobile unit comprising a shredder, a heating chamber, and moulding and
compacting unit to convert agricultural waste into biochar. This unit can
also be used for plastic waste too. Improving upon my products, I brought
uniformity in the size and increased the calorific value of the briquettes.
We got good support from the NCL Venture Centre, Indian Agricultural
Research Institute and Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola,”
said Krunal.
“While most companies focus on energy storage or cosmetics industry, I
realised the steel industry was a bit ignored. Hence, I approached the Steel
Authority of India and started working with them. Presently, I am also
working as the member (non-IAS) of the National Task Force for Ministry
of Steel to promote the ‘Green Steel’ Initiative,” he said.
Explaining the unit economics, Krunal said, “We have two revenue streams.
One is from the sale of our machine and second is from sale of pellets and
briquettes. The machine commercialisation is in final stages with some
product improvisation in line. We usually pay ₹3 to ₹4 per kg for sawdust
and ₹2 for rice husk. The processing cost is of around ₹2 and selling price
is ₹10 to ₹15. Biochar price points are between ₹20 to ₹30.”
Next moves
Sharing the expansion plans, Krunal said, “We are getting requirements
from companies for fulfilling their extended producer responsibility (EPR)
policy to encourage waste reduction and environmental impact in general.
We are beginning our vehicle commercialisation from April which will help
us scale up rapidly. Today we are strong in tech, and having a team of 15
socially and environmentally responsible members. In the long run, we are
confident of becoming a prominent player in the entire waste to value
circular economy and sustainability. We are evolving as a green energy
solution and trying to make a positive impact on our society, environment,
and our nation. We have an 80-year plan for our company as we believe
that the biomass, biochar, biofuel industry is a sunrise industry.”
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Future of Single Use Plastics – Conflict between Policy and Practices