India stands at a crossroads, confronted with the twin challenges of growing waste generation and rising energy needs. With conventional waste management infrastructure under pressure, most organic waste finds its way into landfills. Simultaneously, reliance on fossil fuel imports strains the economy and imperils national energy security. Against this background, biogas is a compelling option. It presents a renewable alternative that transforms organic waste into clean usable energy. Yet, large-scale deployment of biogas has been hampered by technical, policy, and scalability issues.
Dr Chitra Rajan, Ph.D., is the visionary Managing Director of Radix Group and a distinguished serial entrepreneur with expertise spanning Software Services, Agriculture, Construction, and Renewable Energy. Holding a Ph.D. in organizational leadership and three Master’s degrees in Regional Planning, Business Management, and Sanskrit, she brings over 23 years of cross-functional leadership to her role. Dr. Chitra is a global mentor through PFAN-UNIDO and UK-based platforms such as the Cherie Blair Foundation and MB100, focusing on clean energy and women entrepreneurship. A decorated awardee recognized across Asia for her contribution to renewable energy, she serves as National President of Renewable Energy at WICCI and is an Executive Committee Member of LUB Karnataka.
Radix Lifespaces is filling the gap with an innovative solution to biogas technology. Founded with the mission to rethink waste as a resource, the firm utilizes engineering ingenuity and circular economy concepts to create decentralized biogas systems.
What was initially a project to handle waste from a 250-acre coffee farm has grown into a scalable energy business that is directly aligned with India's aspirations for energy independence and sustainability.
The Modular Plant Breakthrough
Radix Lifespaces' success centers on its modular “small plant” model, which avoids the limitations of centralized, industrial-scale units. Instead, it deploys compact one to two ton per day biogas plants directly at waste generation sites. Powered by a proprietary bacterial inoculum, these systems can process diverse feedstocks such as kitchen and poultry waste, Napier grass, and pomegranate husks to produce methane with over 96 percent purity, exceeding national standards.
Radix Lifespaces' innovations stem from intensive R&D and hands-on implementation. Early exposure to alternative energy technologies at IIT Madras, along with field installations in institutions and industrial estates, laid the groundwork for its capabilities. The company played a key role in shaping the SATAT scheme, which mandates oil marketing companies to buy purified biogas.
A strategic tie-up with Indian Oil Corporation marked a turning point, improving financial stability through long-term gas purchase agreements. It also built an in-house purification and compression system using a mix of standard and custom components, reducing the capital cost of a 1 ton per day plant from ₹8 crore to ₹4 crore. Ongoing collaboration with IIT Madras and IIT Bombay supports further research in advanced biofuels, yield enhancement, and carbon capture.
The capability of in-house engineered biogas purification and compression alongside bacterial culture optimization enables the firm to build a versatile system that handles waste collection across cities and rural areas
Building a Cleaner Tomorrow
By having complete control over its core infrastructure, Radix Lifespaces achieves flexibility and standardization with diversified geographies and industrial conditions. Its holistic approach enables the firm to react quickly to changes in the market and sustain consistent quality and performance. With its waste management systems and-thinking ideas, one modular facility at a time, the company continues to shape the way waste is processed and energy is produced.
The pioneers themselves say, “The capability of in-house engineered biogas purification and compression alongside bacterial culture optimization enables the firm to build a versatile system that handles waste collection across cities and rural areas”. Chitra concludes, “The firm has developed a comprehensive expansion strategy for its mini-plants while conducting biofuel research to establish India’s energy independence”. Decreasing the rising volumes of waste while reaching necessary climate goals, Radix is now. Radix is essential.
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