IIT Kharagpur inks pact with Oil India to set up biogas plant

KOLKATA: IIT-Kharagpur signed an agreement with state-owned Oil India Limited to set up a compressed biogas (CBG) plant on the campus, a statement said on Thursday. The agreement was signed at the India Energy Week in Goa, it said.

The plant will process biodegradable waste to produce clean compressed biogas for energy applications and nutrient-rich organic manure for agricultural use, it said. The project directly addresses critical urban challenges related to waste management, greenhouse gas emissions and soil health, it added.

The initiative aims to transform IIT-Kharagpur into a national benchmark for circular economy and waste-to-wealth generation, integrating scientific research with on-ground implementation, the statement said.

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Envisioned as a "living laboratory", the project will foster research, innovation, skilling, and entrepreneurship. IIT-Kharagpur Director Suman Chakraborty said the partnership with Oil India represents the creation of a holistic and scalable ecosystem, involving cutting-edge research, sustainability, and real-world implementation convergence.

"Our objective is to develop a replicable waste-to-wealth model that can be adopted by urban townships across India and the global south, transforming waste from an environmental challenge into a source of clean energy, economic value and innovation," he said.