Greenjoules raises Rs 150 crore, adds Rs 100 crore TDB loan for biocrude plant
By Karan BansalTech Startups Correspondent, Peepals Tech
Representative image: ybernardi / Pixabay
Pune's Greenjoules, which turns crop waste into biocrude, raised Rs 150 crore in a Series B co-led by Amazon funds and got a Rs 100 crore TDB loan, reports on 11 November 2026 said.
What Happened
Greenjoules, a Pune start-up that turns agricultural waste into a crude-oil substitute called biocrude, has raised Rs 150 crore in a Series B funding round co-led by two Amazon funds, the Smbhav Venture Fund and the Climate Pledge Fund, according to reports published on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. The company has separately secured a Rs 100 crore loan from the Technology Development Board, a body under the Government of India's Department of Science and Technology, taking its total new financing to Rs 250 crore. The money is meant for a new manufacturing plant at Khed City near Pune.
Key Facts
- Equity raised: Rs 150 crore in a Series B round, the second major round of outside investment in a start-up.
- Co-leads: Amazon's Smbhav Venture Fund and Climate Pledge Fund.
- Other investors: Rainmatter, the investment arm of the brokerage Zerodha, and Singularity's Strategic Autonomy Fund.
- Debt: a Rs 100 crore loan from the Technology Development Board (TDB), which funds the commercial use of home-grown technology.
- Largest shareholder: Blue Ashva Capital, which led the company's Series A round in 2021, remains the biggest investor, reports say.
- Use of money: a manufacturing facility at Khed City, Pune, with construction to be phased from 2027; the company expects it to become India's largest plant of its kind.
- Process: the company uses its own technology to convert farm residue into biocrude, which is then refined into renewable diesel.
Why It Matters
Crop residue is usually treated as waste once the grain is harvested. A business that buys that residue and turns it into fuel gives it a value for farmers and gives industry another source of diesel that does not come from fossil crude. Greenjoules says its process converts farm waste into biocrude, a thick oil that can be refined much like crude oil from the ground, and then into renewable diesel.
Earlier company profiles describe a working biorefinery at Chakan in Pune that supplies large business customers, and say its fuel can be used in existing diesel engines, generators and boilers without changes. That is the point investors are backing: the company is selling fuel now, not only promising a technology. Rainmatter's Abhinav Negi pointed to the company's record of running an operating plant when explaining the investment, according to the reports.
The mix of investors also matters. A loan from the Technology Development Board signals that a government body has reviewed the technology and is willing to lend against it. Debt from such a body is usually cheaper than giving up more shares. The Amazon funds bring a large corporate buyer's interest in cutting the carbon footprint of transport and logistics.
For tech start-ups beyond the software sector, the round shows that climate and deep-technology firms, which need factories and long build times, are raising money through a blend of equity and public lending rather than equity alone.
Peepals calculation: Of the Rs 250 crore in total new financing, equity makes up 60% (150 ÷ 250 = 0.60) and the TDB loan 40% (100 ÷ 250 = 0.40). Put another way, the company raised Rs 1.50 of equity for every rupee of government-backed debt. Our calculation from the reported figures.
| Source of money | Amount |
|---|---|
| Series B equity (Amazon funds co-led) | Rs 150 crore |
| Technology Development Board loan | Rs 100 crore |
| Total new financing | Rs 250 crore |
Impact
Short-term: Greenjoules has money in hand to plan and start the Khed City plant, with construction to begin in phases from 2027.
Long-term: If the plant reaches the scale the company expects, it would create a large new buyer for crop residue in western India and add to the country's supply of renewable diesel.
Who is affected: Farmers who sell crop waste, industrial fuel users looking for lower-carbon diesel, climate-technology investors and government lenders that back home-grown technology.
What to watch next: The start of phased construction at Khed City, which the company has set for 2027.
Key Takeaway
Greenjoules has lined up Rs 250 crore, Rs 150 crore in Series B equity and Rs 100 crore as a TDB loan, to build a crop-waste biocrude plant near Pune.
Questions and Answers
How much did Greenjoules raise in its Series B round?
Greenjoules raised Rs 150 crore in equity, co-led by Amazon's Smbhav Venture Fund and Climate Pledge Fund, and separately took a Rs 100 crore loan from the Technology Development Board.
What does Greenjoules make?
It converts agricultural residue into biocrude using its own process, and the biocrude is then refined into renewable diesel for industrial customers.
Where will the new Greenjoules plant be built?
At Khed City in Pune district, Maharashtra, with construction to be phased starting in 2027.
Who else invested in Greenjoules?
Rainmatter, Zerodha's investment arm, and Singularity's Strategic Autonomy Fund joined the round; Blue Ashva Capital, which led the 2021 Series A, remains the largest shareholder.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Karan Bansal, Tech Startups CorrespondentCovers Tech Start-ups & Stories and more for Peepals Tech. All stories by Karan Bansal
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Karan Bansal is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
