New Delhi, April 10 -- Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath is investing $20 million (around Rs 172 crore) in a green logistics company promoted by the Ruia family-owned Essar Group as part of a larger funding round.
Kamath's investment in GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd is a rare instance of a high-net-worth individual (HNI) investor backing a subsidiary of a diversified conglomerate in India.
The investment is part of a $275 million equity infusion into the logistics company, a bulk of which will come from the Essar Group itself. It is unclear if any other HNI investors also joined the funding round.
GreenLine said in a press release that it will use the money to deploy more than 10,000 LNG and EV trucks and set up 100 LNG refuelling stations across the country. It will also use the money to set up an unspecified number of EV charging stations, and battery swapping facilities.
These new trucks will add to GreenLine's current fleet of over 650 LNG trucks that haul cargo for companies across industries such as FMCG, e-commerce, metals and mining, cement, oil and gas, and chemicals, GreenLine said.
"Backing GreenLine is a bet on that future where sustainability and efficiency go hand in hand. More companies need to take the leap, adopt green tech, and rethink how we move goods at scale," said Kamath.
GreenLine's LNG refueling stations are housed under its subsidiary Ultra Gas and Energy Ltd.
Kamath or entities backed by him have been making investments in the green mobility and sustainability space. His latest investment in the green mobility space comes just a couple of months after Gruhas, an investment fund backed by him, along with other investors backed EV bus maker PMI Electro Mobility Solutions.
In March this year, Gruhas and real estate developer Brigade Group launched the Earth Fund, a real estate fund with a target corpus of Rs 200 crore and a greenshoe option of Rs 100 crore.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.