50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profile: Praj Industries
Praj Industries
Based in: India
2008-09 ranking: Unranked
Business: Fermentation, Distillation, Dehydration, Evaporation, waste-water treatment and re-utilization, for first generation bioethanol and esterification, trans-esterification, technologies for biodiesel plants. Second and Third generation under pilot-scale and lab scale respectively.
Model: Owner-operator and licensor-partner.
Past milestones:
1. Inaugurated lignocellulose to Ethanol pilot plant. Inaugurated first-of-its-kind zero discharge wastewater plant.
2. Praj Industries was awarded the Bio- Excellence award from the state government of Karnakata, for its Praj Matrix R&D center. The facility includes 14 laboratories including pilot plants for cellulosic and first-gen ethanol and biodiesel, as well as algal Sciences.
3. Energy efficient ethanol plants in Europe for Biowanze, Belgium and
Anklam Biofuels, Germany.
Future milestones:
1. To offer alternate, low carbon footprint, farm-to-fuel modules for biofuels by 2010-11.
2. To achieve critical milestones in Lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol production by 2010-11.
3. To establish a Pilot plant for algae to biodiesel by 2011.
Metrics: 2009 Projected revenues : US $ 187 M; 2008 Audited : US $ 159 M; 2007 Audited : US $ 145 M.
Today, 55 percent business comes from export of technology, plant and equipment for ethanol production. Praj has
achieved a 50-55 percent market share in Southeast Asia and a 75 percent market share in India. The company increased revenues 26 percent last year, while net earning contracted by 20 percent on a three point fall in operating margins.
Praj quotable quotes: “In financing, people perceive projects that are first of a kind as a higher risk. Also, there’s a concern about financial incentives expiring in 2012, and volatility in ethanol prices.”
“Biofuels have become the victim of their own popularity. Policy makers in each country need to ‘customize’ their choice of energy in a more systematic manner so as to provide the best options to their citizens. Biofuels have the potential to create ‘mass uniqueness’ through choice of feedstock.”
The Hot 50 for 2009-10 will be released Tuesday, 12/1. Between now and then, you’ll see profiles of potential candidates in the Digest, and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorites. Reader response will count for 50 percent of a company’s overall score in the preparation of the rankings. The remaining 50 percent is voted by a panel of experts.
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Joelle Brink | Aug 25, 2009 | Reply
Several additional factors make Praj a company to watch.
-Praj has 25 years in the alcohol process technology business and has worked with its international customers to create the largest knowledge base in the world on alcohol/ethanol feedstocks–by species, variety, growing conditions, mash charactereistics and wastewater challenges.
-The company’s large base of existing clients provides it with ready customers for its new co-located distillery waste to ethanol technology, a breakthrough in resource and cost efficient ethanol production.
-Praj integrates the IPR of its 16 lab Matrix complex with its existing business, minimizing the costs of the R&D to pilot to commercialization process.
-Praj recently introduced farm-to-fuel services for both ethanol and biodiesel production. It stands to benefit from the failure of other companies to achieve success with Jatropha biodiesel, and from its own research on algae and other new crops.
-USDA is currently promoting Praj’s highly efficient ethanol technology for Colombia as a global model of sustainable ethanol production.
-Within India, Praj Chairman Pramod Chaudhary chairs the Biofuels Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He has markedly increased government and corporate interest in biofuels, along with cooperation among the companies working in the industry.
Praj developed dryland crop sweet sorghum to ethanol technology, which will increasingly replace sugar cane as the result of poor monsoons and climate change. Praj client Tata Chemicals has already achieved success with its pilot plant and announced that it will roll out sweet sorghum ethanol plants on a large scale.
In short, the company looks set both to continue its domination of the Indian ethanol industry as production increases to meet the mandates, and to significantly increase its business overseas.