USHER ECO POWER LIMITED
Status: Completed investmentWhy disclosure?
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Disclaimer
The information as disclosed is indicative and provided on an "as-is/as available" basis for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or investment advice, nor as a commitment or an offer to arrange or provide any financing. The final decision to provide financing is subject to the terms and conditions of FMO in its sole and absolute discretion. When providing links to other sites, FMO bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. The information on proposed investment for high-risk investments is made available in the language relevant to the country or region where the bulk of operations take place. Translations of any information into languages other than English are intended as a convenience for local stakeholders. In case of any discrepancy, the information provided in English will prevail.
Who is our customer
Usher Eco Power Ltd a subsidiary of Usher Agro Ltd.
What is our funding objective?
FMO, the Dutch development bank, and the German development finance institution DEG- Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH- signed a transaction with Usher Eco Power Limited (Usher Eco) for a USD 28 million Senior Secured Loan (shared equally between DEG and FMO). Usher Eco will become the first company in the world to set up a commercial scale silica extraction plant for producing "green" high quality precipitated silica from rice husk ash. This ash is generated by burning rice husk (outer cover of the paddy) in the boiler of a rice husk fired biomass power plant. The financing will be used for setting up the silica extraction plant and to expand Usher Eco’s rice husk based waste-to-energy facility from 16 MW to 34 MW.
Why do we fund this investment?
The "green" silica extraction process is the result of close collaboration between the open innovation team of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore and Usher Eco. The produced silica will be used by Goodyear to replace carbon black and traditional silica in the high performance tires. Compared to carbon black and traditional silica, "green" silica reduces rolling resistance. Lower rolling resistance, in turn, improves a car's fuel economy. FMO classifies this as a green transaction due to the environmental impact and the closed-loop production process, resulting in zero waste: (i) paddy milling results in rice and rice husk; (ii) Rice husk (biomass) is used to generate energy; (iii) the ensuing ash is used as input for the silica extraction. The silica extraction process allows extraction without using aggressive chemicals and at significantly lower temperatures than under the conventional process; and (iv) the remaining waste product can be applied as fertilizer.
- Region
- Asia
- Country
- India
- Sector
- Energy
- Effective date
- 11/19/2015
- End date
- 12/30/2021
- Total FMO financing
- USD 14.00 MLN
- Funding
- FMO NV
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Risk categorization on environmental and social impacts, A = high risk, B+ = medium high risk, B = medium risk, C = low risk
Environmental & Social Category
(A, B+, B or C) - A