X2FUELS AND ENERGY
A deep-tech spin off company from IIT Madras
X2Fuels & Energy is committed to addressing India’s solid waste challenge through innovative thermochemical technologies like hydrothermal liquefaction, pyrolysis, gasification and more. Our goal is to convert wastes into sustainable fuels and energy in a decentralized manner, promoting a cleaner environment and a better future for humanity.
WHAT WE DO
X2Fuels & Energy is revolutionizing waste management with cutting-edge thermochemical technologies. We convert diverse solid waste materials—like agricultural residues, municipal wastes, plastics, and industrial wastes—into sustainable liquid and solid fuels. Our compact, energy-efficient solutions are adaptable to various sectors, helping address India's solid waste challenges while advancing a zero-waste, circular economy. We provide end-to-end solutions from concept development, design, detailed engineering, fabrication, installation/erection, commissioning to operations & maintenance of waste-to-fuel processes covering the complete process life cycle. With a focus on commercial-ready technology, we have developed India's first continuous, demonstration-scale HTL plant to power a cleaner and greener planet.
ABOUT OUR TEAM
Our team is composed of experienced, passionate and skilled engineers, technologists, business & management consultants with deep knowledge and keen focus on sustainability, circular economy and environmental protection to achieve Net Zero goals.
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Our team is dedicated to pioneering sustainable solutions for biomass, wastes and plastics conversion. With expertise in high-temperature and high-pressure vessel design, testing, fabrication and operations, we specialize in hard-to-abate areas of solid waste management to transforming the wastes to valuable energy resources.
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Our multidisciplinary team comprises skilled engineers, researchers, and industry experts working together to optimize HTL technology for efficiency and scalability. We focus on continuous innovation, advanced process control, and sustainable practices to develop cost-effective and eco-friendly fuel alternatives.
OUR TEAM
OUR STORY
2014 - Present
Strong Academic Research
The core team is continuously innovating the HTL technology, especially on process intensification, scale-up and product value chain for the conversion of diverse feedstocks, including lignocellulosic agro-residues, algae, seaweeds, municipal solid waste, industrial wastes, and plastics to fuels. Laboratory experiments and thorough characterization of the products are conducted at the National Center for Combustion Research & Development (NCCRD) & Chemical Engineering Department at IIT Madras.
2018-2019
The X2Fuels & Energy was founded
The X2Fuels & Energy was founded by Dr. R. Vinu, Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Dr. Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, Professor of Aerospace Engineering from the National Center for Combustion Research & Development (NCCRD) at IIT Madras. It was established with the seed-grant of Engineers India Ltd., and support from IIT Madras Incubation Cell and IIT Madras Research Park, Chennai, India.
2019-2022
Development of 100 L Batch HTL Reactor
X2Fuels & Energy, with the support of Engineers India Limited (EIL), has developed a 100 L batch HTL unit to transform municipal solid waste (MSW) into crude-like oil and char. Marked as the first step to process scale-up, this partnership aims to produce stable, eco-friendly fuels from solid wastes using innovative liquefaction technology. Large quantities of bio-crudes were generated to evaluate the quality using various metrics, and its catalytic upgradation for seamless integration with the refinery infrastructure was evaluated.
2022-2024
Development of 5 TPD commercial scale HTL plant
X2Fuels & Energy, with the support of Tube Investments of India (TII), has developed a 5 TPD commercial scale HTL unit to transform industrial hazardous solid wastes (MSW) into crude-like oil and char. The first continuous HTL unit of India using the tubular reactor technology with excellent energy recovery efficiencies, this serves as a benchmark unit to scale-up the process to much higher levels, i.e. 10, 25, 50 and 100 TPD.
RESEARCH
AWARDS
An award for a new ideation
In 2020, our team competed in the prestigious "New Generation Ideation Contest" organized by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), India, and secured an impressive 3rd place in the open category. X2Fuels & Energy showcased a ground breaking concept at the NGIC 2020, where HPCL celebrated innovative solutions based on technical brilliance and real-world impact. Our idea, developed through rigorous lab work, stood out among over 300 submissions, earning us the top spot. This recognition has fuelled our passion and ambition, pushing us to take our technology to new heights and beyond.
