Novonesis Plans ₹3,000-Crore Investment in Maharashtra Over Next Three Years

Danish bio-solutions major Novonesis has announced plans to roll out its proposed ₹2,500 to 3,000 crore investment in Maharashtra over the next 24 to 36 months. The capital expenditure aims to expand manufacturing capacity to tap into rising Indian demand for biofuels, food and health solutions, and agricultural biologicals.

The company, which was formed through the 2004 merger of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen, expects the remaining approvals and sign-offs for the Maharashtra project to be finalized this year. Following these regulatory closures, the formal details of the investment will be released. The initiative follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Maharashtra government earlier this year.

A significant portion of the capacity expansion is slated for the company's manufacturing facility in Patalganga, where substantial land remains available for development. According to Krishna Mohan Puvvada, Regional President for Middle East, India and Africa at Novonesis, only 10 percent of the total land acquired with the facility has been utilized so far, offering substantial room to scale up local operations. In addition to Patalganga, Novonesis operates a facility in Wada, Maharashtra, producing enzymes, health ingredients, and nutrition products for both domestic and export markets.

The investment aligns with the company's broader strategy focusing on emerging markets, which it expects to outpace developed economies. While Novonesis holds a global organic sales growth ambition of 6 to 9 percent, emerging regions like India are targeted to outpace that average. Bioenergy represents a core growth vertical for the firm, which supplies enzymes, yeast, and biological technologies to ethanol manufacturers to optimize yields, reduce fermentation cycles, and lower energy consumption. The company clarifies that it does not engage directly in biofuel production, but instead supplies processing inputs to ethanol producers who supply oil marketing companies.

Beyond bioenergy, Novonesis is expanding its footprint in the agricultural and biogas sectors. The firm recently launched a biological solution in Karnataka designed to increase sugarcane yields by roughly 15 percent, thereby improving feedstock economics for ethanol producers. It is also collaborating with organized players in India's emerging biogas ecosystem, where trials using various substrates have demonstrated output improvements ranging from 15 percent to over 30 percent, depending on operating conditions and feedstock.

Despite strong market opportunities in food, health, probiotics, animal nutrition, and agricultural biologicals, company leadership has pointed to regulatory hurdles as a primary constraint. Specifically in agriculture, biological products continue to face lengthy approval processes and are frequently evaluated under regulatory frameworks originally designed for conventional chemicals. The company has highlighted the need for faster and more transparent regulatory pathways to support continued investment and sector innovation.

"Novonesis's strategic capital deployment in Maharashtra highlights the immense potential of the bio-solutions and bioenergy sectors in India. By utilizing under-utilized manufacturing assets and focusing on high-growth areas like ethanol inputs and agricultural biologicals, the company is aligning well with national shifts toward sustainable industrial processes. However, as leadership notes, streamlining regulatory frameworks for biological products will be crucial to accelerating commercial adoption and ensuring long-term returns on heavy capital investments." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes