Buyofuel startup provides sustainable solutions to Indian corporates

Founded by Kishan Karunakaran, the Coimbatore-based Buyofuel is an online B2B marketplace for trading biofuel-based commodities that has earned clients like the TVS Group, ITC, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, and more.

In 2008, entrepreneur Kishan Karunakaran established a biodiesel manufacturing unit, where he commercialised one of the earliest second-generation biodiesel production technologies in the world, based on specific organic wastes.

In order to facilitate business for manufacturers, Kishan began conceptualising a way to streamline the aggregation of wastes and develop a biofuel ecosystem through technology. In May 2020, he established Buyofuel.

Buyofuel is a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers of biofuels. Biofuels provide a sustainable energy system that is renewable, environmentally friendly and capable of utilising indigenous raw materials.

Globally, the most common types of biofuels in use today are bioethanol (used as a petrol substitute for road transport vehicles), biodiesel (produced using animal fats, vegetable oils, and UCOs), biogas (produced using food or animal waste which is broken down by microorganisms) and biobutanol (a renewable fuel produced from waste biomass feedstocks).

For more than a decade, biofuel has been used in India. Although there are many obstacles to its widespread adoption, the growth of this industry has been undeniable. For example, according to Statista, India’s biodiesel production grew from around 132 million litres in 2013 to 185 million in 2022. Meanwhile, ethanol production grew from 680 million litres in 2014-15 to 9,230 million litres in 2022.

One can buy biofuel on their app. The venture claims to facilitate the sale of more than 10,000 metric tons of biofuel every month on its platform with more than 1,300 verified users conducting regular business there.

Buyofuel handles the biofuel requirements of industry players like Seshasayee Paper & Board, TVS Group, Thermax, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Group, JSW Steel, etc.

Buyofuel functions as a curated marketplace which integrates buyer and seller in a platform to procure and sell biofuels and their raw materials. The company has raised two sets of funding so far.

In November 2021, Buyofuel received Rs 1.6 crore in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). Around November 2022, they raised Rs 11.5 crore in pre-series A funding from IPV, Gruhas Proptech, Venture Catalyst and a syndicate of cleantech investors from the Middle East.