New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation has acquired a minority stake in the Indonesian operations of Indian bio-gas and biofuels technology company KIS Group.

Neither KIS Group not Mitsubishi commented on the financial terms of the latter's investment or the quantum of stake acquired, but said that this was the Japanese company's first foray into the global bio-gas market.

The nearly two decade old KIS Group said in a release that Mitsubishi's investment will help it tap the latter's network across more than 90 countries as it looks to expand internationally. The two companies will also co-develop and commercialise advanced biogas, BioCNG, and BioLNG solutions for global markets, KIS said. The various markets that it will expand into over the next five years will include North and South America and Europe, targeting a substantial increase in renewable gas output.

Founded in 2006 by KS Raghunath, the KIS Group is present across 11 countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, UAE, Brazil, Colombia, Qatar, and Spain. It operates across a bunch of domains including palm oil, sugar, dairy, paper, distilleries, and agro-processing. The company has said that it is looking to invest up to $1 billion across renewable gas and biofuel solutions in Southeast Asia and India by 2030, but has not specified what the exact solutions would be.

KIS said till date it has developed several biomethane / renewable gas projects across the 11 countries it operates in. It also said that it has inked long term biomethane supply contracts with Unilever and Shell, and is working on several biomethane-supply projects. KIS Group said that it is also working with Toyota, Godrej, Sinar Mas, Banas Dairy, Maruti Suzuki and several others.

"By combining our strengths with Mitsubishi's global reach and industry expertise, we are poised for exponential growth and to create long-term value for stakeholders by expanding access to reliable, low-carbon energy solutions worldwide," Raghunath, founder and chief executive officer at KIS Group, said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.