Godavari Biorefineries Wins Industry-Academia Award for CO₂ Conversion Tech

Godavari Biorefineries Limited (GBL) has been awarded an esteemed award in the industry owing to its collaboration with a leading academia partner. In partnership with Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai, the company received the ICC – K. V. Mariwala Award for Effective Chemical Industry – Academia Partnership. This award was awarded in Mumbai at the 60th Annual ICC Awards. 

This award highlights the joint development of a novel technology aimed at reducing carbon emissions. This collaboration achieved the development of an exciting new process to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) to an important chemical called di-methyl ether (DME), all in a single step and at a more efficient and less expensive cost than previous methods. 

DME can be an exceptionally flexible product with many uses: it can be a clean-burning fuel, substituting LPG and diesel, and it also serves as a primary feedstock in many chemical synthesis processes. This technology resonates strongly with GBL’s objectives, and especially, can utilize the biogenic CO₂ collected from GBL’s own ethanol fermentation process thus providing a second case of circular economy.

The project was spearheaded by Professor G. D. Yadav from ICT and Mr. Samir Somaiya, the Chairman and Managing Director at GBL. In reaction to receiving the recognition, Mr. Somaiya noted that the award demonstrates the importance of the long-term relationship with ICT. He asserted that those ties are essential for building sustainability and tackling universal problems through innovation in renewable chemistry.

The award itself is created by the Indian Chemical Council to recognize partnerships that successfully committed use academic research in the industrial setting. It recognizes partnerships that create tangible technological solutions and support knowledge transfer from the labsetting to commercialization.

GBL is known as a major player in biorefining and converting agricultural raw materials into sustainable products such as biofuels and green chemicals. This award epitomizes the organization's commitment to investing in research development partnerships that pursue advancement in green technology while championing responsible industrial growth.