Godavari Biorefineries is an integrated biorefinery that turns sugarcane and grain into sugar, ethanol, bio-based chemicals and power - a “soil to specialty” model built on the idea that everything begins with the sun, the soil and the small farmer. Founded in 1939 as a sugar mill in Maharashtra, the company spent the 1960s learning to make chemicals from ethanol and the 1990s doubling down on research to replace petroleum-derived inputs, emerging as India’s largest integrated bio-refinery and a pioneer of green chemistry. The recurring approach is circular: one feedstock enters the gate and the company extracts every possible revenue stream from it - food, fuel, specialty molecules and power - while reinvesting the cash flows from mature products into the next higher-value platform. # Business segments Four engines at different stages - an integrated sugar-ethanol-power backbone, a specialty-chemicals platform built on that ethanol, a fast-growing consumer brand, and a research pipeline reaching into cancer therapeutics - each fed by the cash flows of the one before. ## 1. Integrated sugar, ethanol and power: the biorefinery backbone **One tonne of sugarcane crushed at the Sameerwadi site yields sugar, three grades of ethanol and bagasse-fired electricity - three revenue streams from a single feedstock, with captive energy and ethanol insulating the downstream chemicals business from market swings.** - **Sugar as the anchor product** - sugar is sold to institutional buyers, exported when government policy permits, and retailed under the Jivana brand, with the 2024-25 season delivering a gross recovery rate of 10.94%, among the highest in the country because the factory sits in a high-recovery cane region. - **Ethanol for fuel and industry** - the distillery makes fuel ethanol for India’s Ethanol Blending Programme, plus Extra Neutral Alcohol for pharmaceuticals and beverages, selling roughly 98 million litres across all grades in FY26. A newly commissioned 200 kilolitre-per-day grain distillery, built for about ₹130 crore, adds dual-feedstock flexibility so the company can switch between sugarcane juice and maize depending on price and harvest risk. - **Bagasse keeps the lights on** - the fibrous waste left after crushing cane is burned to generate electricity, covering roughly 85% of the company’s own energy needs and keeping power costs stable, with any surplus sold to the grid. ## 2. Bio-based chemicals: replacing petroleum, one molecule at a time **Ethanol made at the sugar complex travels to the Sakarwadi plant and emerges as specialty chemicals that industrial customers buy specifically because they are not made from oil - and the company is deliberately shifting the mix toward higher-value specialties.** - **Ethanol is the raw material** - the chemicals business runs on ethanol produced captively at Sameerwadi, which shields it from the cost of imported ethanol and gives it a pricing edge over competitors who must buy on the open market. - **A portfolio built on scarcity** - the company is India’s sole producer of bio-ethyl acetate and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of MPO (a solvent intermediate), alongside products like 1,3 Butylene Glycol (used in personal care), acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Customers include Hershey’s India, Coca-Cola, LANXESS and IFF, who buy these molecules either because their end-consumers want bio-based ingredients or because the bio-based version is a drop-in replacement that cuts their carbon footprint. - **Specialties are taking over** - specialty chemicals rose to 61% of the segment’s revenue in FY26, up from 58% two years earlier, driven by debottlenecking investments such as the ₹6 crore expansion of 1,3 BG capacity from 120 to 200 tonnes per month. - **Next-generation molecules are already in the pipeline** - a licence deal with Catalyxx Inc gives the company exclusive Indian manufacturing rights for technology that converts ethanol into biobutanol and higher alcohols, with a first-phase plant targeting 15,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity, targeted for commissioning in Q2 FY27. Separately, Synthomer is commercialising bio-based butyl acrylate using Godavari’s bio-butanol, and a pilot plant with ICT is researching how to turn CO₂ and hydrogen into dimethyl ether. ## 3. Jivana: the consumer brand built on the factory’s own sugar **What began as a way to sell the company’s sugar directly to households has become a ₹129-crore retail brand growing at 44% a year, now reaching more than 7,500 stores across western and southern India.** - **Pure, chemical-free pantry staples** - the Jivana range includes white and brown sugar, jaggery, salt, and spice powders such as turmeric, coriander and chilli, all positioned as natural products free of chemical additives. - **Retail reach that compounds** - store count grew from 6,300 in FY24 to over 7,500 in FY26, with distribution moving beyond its Maharashtra-Gujarat-Rajasthan stronghold into Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. - **A growth engine in its own right** - the brand crossed ₹100 crore in revenue during FY25 and hit that same milestone within just nine months of FY26, reflecting a consumer shift toward natural products that the company can serve straight from its own mills. ## 4. R&D and drug discovery: the long-dated option on biology **Three government-recognised research centres, 19 patented processes and a subsidiary in the US are working on a pipeline that stretches from next-generation biofuels all the way to an oral drug for triple-negative breast cancer - a bet that the company’s chemistry skills can travel beyond the biorefinery.** - **Deep bench of scientists** - more than 50 research professionals, including eight PhDs, work across three DSIR-registered centres on vapour-phase reactions, continuous-flow chemistry and process improvements that lower the cost of existing products. - **Cancer drug in the clinic** - an oral therapy candidate for triple-negative breast cancer has completed safety trials and established its mechanism of action, with the company preparing for preliminary efficacy trials and having targeted a regulatory filing in India. The business model is out-licensing: invent the molecule, patent it, and license it to a pharmaceutical company for development and sales. - **US subsidiary to monetise the science** - Sathgen Therapeutics, LLC was incorporated in the United States in late 2025 as a dedicated vehicle for global IP creation and licensing of the company’s novel drugs, capitalised with US$350,000. - **Regenerative agriculture closes the loop** - the company makes Bhumilabh bio-fertiliser from pressmud (a sugarcane byproduct) and works with the KJ Somaiya Institute of Applied Agricultural Research on soil health and farmer productivity, returning value to the farms that supply its cane. # Group structure and partners **The company sits within the Somaiya Group, one of India’s oldest industrial houses, and uses a network of overseas subsidiaries and global partnerships to commercialise its bio-based chemistry beyond Indian borders.** - **Four subsidiaries, two continents** - the group includes Solar Magic Private Limited (India, trading in fertilisers and agri-inputs), plus Cayuga Investments B.V. and Godavari Biorefineries B.V. in the Netherlands (both focused on financing and trading chemicals and sugar), and Godavari Biorefineries Inc. in the US, which in turn owns Sathgen Therapeutics, LLC for drug business development. - **Synthomer partnership** - a collaboration to commercialise bio-based butyl acrylate globally, with Synthomer using Godavari’s bio-butanol as the building block, opening a route into the specialty monomers market. - **Catalyxx licence** - an exclusive Indian manufacturing licence for ethanol-to-biobutanol technology, secured for a US$1.93 million fee plus royalties, with first-technology-adopter benefits and worldwide marketing rights. - **Academic and government anchors** - a DME pilot plant with the Institute of Chemical Technology, a 2G ethanol demonstration plant backed by a ₹15 crore government grant, and ongoing agricultural research with KIAAR tie the company’s innovation pipeline to public and academic institutions.