Telangana Unlocks Rs.1,500 Cr Green Investment Push with Groundbreaking Biogas Tech in Landmark Biovest-Spantech-EcoMax Alliance
Hyderabad, India / Cape Town, South Africa — May 1, 2025: Telangana announces Green Investments of more than 1500 Cr INR in the state in developing biogas plants leveraging a revolutionary technology being introduced in India for the first time.
Biovest Holdings (South Africa), Spantech Engineers (India), and EcoMax Energy (India) have joined forces to Usher in a New Era of Biogas Innovation in India.
In a game-changing Indo-South African pact, Biovest Holdings (South Africa) and Spantech Engineers (India) have inked a bilateral technology transfer agreement set to redefine global green energy frontiers. As part of this strategic alliance, Spantech will supply its cutting-edge biogas purification systems BioGenie™ to Biovest, while Biovest will license its breakthrough containerized modular anaerobic digestion technology Herba™—capable of 3X biomethane yields—to be manufactured locally by Spantech in Hyderabad, ushering in a new era for India’s clean energy landscape. EcoMax Energy Hyderabad is the exclusive partner for deploying this technology through their CBG initiatives in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, bringing in investments and creating employment opportunities for thousands across the state.
EcoMax Energy Pvt Ltd has announced building an initial 20 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants across the state of Telangana with eventually one in every district, leveraging this revolutionary Herba™ technology. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect has been formally signed between EcoMax and Spantech in the presence of senior ministers and officials from the Telangana Government.
This cross-continental alliance is set to redefine the future of the biogas industry in India, with BioVest’s Herba™ technology poised as a game changer—bringing efficiency, modularity, and sustainability into focus for decentralized green energy production at scale.
This collaboration brings together Biovest’s pioneering innovation in anaerobic microbial digestion and Spantech’s engineering excellence in industrial gas and renewable energy systems to scale a technology poised to disrupt the traditional biogas industry.
Announcing this, Mr. M Rithvik Rao, CEO and MD of Ecomax Energy said, “EcoMax Energy’s ultimate vision is to transform Telangana into a green energy powerhouse, achieving complete self-reliance in compressed natural gas consumption while simultaneously creating thousands of green jobs and supporting our agricultural communities. We are actively raising capital from European green funds and development banks to finance this ambitious project, underscoring its global significance and environmental credentials.”
This collaboration is fostered by the close relationship between the Republic of South Africa and India. Expressing his happiness on this Indo-South African partnership, H.E. Gideon Labane, Consul General of South Africa in India, said:
“This partnership between Biovest, Spantech and EcoMax is more than a business alliance—it is a bold step toward a cleaner, greener future rooted in shared innovation between South Africa and India. Herba™ is not just a technology; it is a symbol of what’s possible when two nations come together to reimagine energy, agriculture, and sustainability. We are proud to witness this powerful collaboration take shape—a testament to South Africa-India partnerships that don’t just dream big, but deliver real impact for our people and our planet.”
Nature-Inspired, Engineered for the Future
The Herba™ system is a bio-inspired solution that mimics how ruminant animals like cows convert fibrous plant material into energy. This innovation, dubbed the “Mechanical Cow,” transforms organic biomass into high-yield biogas using a two-phase microbial digestion process that is faster, more efficient, and environmentally superior to conventional anaerobic digestion (AD) methods.
“With Herba™, we’re not just offering a better technology—we’re offering a paradigm shift. It’s decentralized, scalable, and built for the realities of agricultural and industrial economies,” said Mr. Harold Edwards, Chairman, Biovest Holdings.
Why Herba™ is a Game-Changer
Compared to traditional AD systems that suffer from high capital costs, long retention times, and limited feedstock flexibility, Herba™ delivers:
Less than 36-hour retention time (vs. 55 days in conventional systems)
Biogas yield of 800L/kg of feedstock
CH₄ concentrations consistently over 80%
21x higher organic loading rates
Energy efficiency below 2kW per unit
Factory-built, mobile, and modular units—no need for civil works
Zero effluent discharge and high-value co-products like biochar, food-grade CO₂, wood vinegar, and nutrient-rich water
Making Clean Energy Local and Scalable
Under the partnership, Spantech Engineers will become the exclusive manufacturing and technology deployment partner for Herba™ in India, enabling rapid localization, job creation, and cost-effective biogas plants across both rural and urban markets. Most importantly, it changes the economics of biogas through significantly enhanced biomethane yields.
“This partnership aligns with India’s clean energy vision and circular economy goals. We’re excited to bring Herba™ to life here and offer a comprehensive end to end Biogas solution that is truly transformative for the biogas industry impacting agriculture, transport, industry, and beyond,” said Ramgopal, Director – Technology and Innovation of Spantech Engineers Pvt Ltd.
From Crop Waste to Green Fuel
Herba™ is ideally suited for India’s vast agricultural economy. A typical 8,000-tonne-per-annum agri-waste plant using Herba™ can generate:
~7 tons per day of compressed biogas (Bio-CNG)
3.6 million diesel-liter equivalents (DLEs)
2,440 tons of food-grade CO₂
1,180 m³ of nutrient water for irrigation
981 dm³ of biochar
80 m³ of wood vinegar
This positions the technology not just as a renewable energy solution, but as a holistic platform for circular value creation.
A Shared Vision for a Sustainable Future
With the Herba™ platform, EcoMax, Biovest and Spantech are laying the foundation for next-generation bioenergy systems that are modular, fast to deploy, and capable of fueling a green revolution—starting in India and expanding globally.
The companies will soon announce more projects and commercial-scale rollouts across multiple Indian states in collaboration with government agencies, private stakeholders, and farming communities.
“When like-minded innovators unite, the possibilities are limitless. This partnership isn’t just about what we will accomplish together – it’s about setting a new standard for the Biogas Industry and empowering those we serve. By combining BioVest’s cutting-edge Herba technology with Spantech Engineers’ compressed gas technology, we are poised to redefine what’s possible for our clients and the future of biogas. Together we will create solutions that not only meet today’s challenges but inspire tomorrow’s opportunities,” said the founders of Biovest Holding, Johan Botha and Otto Hager.
iCollab, a first-of-its-kind B2G Revenue accelerator, will play a strategic role in enabling BioVest and Spantech to unlock sustainable revenue pathways within India’s green energy ecosystem. Mr. L Srinath Reddy, Chairman of iCollab Hub Foundation “This collaboration with Ecomax-Spantech-BioVest reflects iCollab’s mission to accelerate transformative and scalable greentech solutions that align with India’s renewable energy goals for 2030 and net-zero vision for 2070.”
