Praj Industries Executive Chairman Pramod Chaudhari Wins the 2022 Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Advanced Bioeconomy

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, The Daily Digest announced that Praj Industries Executive Chairman Pramod Chaudhari will receive the 2022 William C. Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Advanced Bioeconomy, and will give the Holmberg Memorial Address at ABLC 2022, the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference, on March 17, 2022. Dr. Chaudhari becomes the first recipient of the Award from Asia.

The award recognizes a lifetime of high achievement, courage, and character. It was named in honor of the first recipient, Lt. Colonel William C. Holmberg (USMC), winner of the Navy Cross, an architect of the US renewable fuels program at the Department of Energy and EPA, and a co-founder of the American Council on Renewable Energy.

2014 Lt. Col William C. Holmberg
2015 Guido Ghisolfi, CEO, Beta Renewables (posthumous)
2016 Dr. Robert Graham, CEO, Ensyn
2017 Brian Foody, CEO, Iogen
2018 Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy
2019 Senator Charles K. Grassley of Iowa
2021 Dr. Jennifer Holmgren

“This Award recognizes the transition of the advanced bieconomy from the successes of its first-generation of technologies in fuels and chemicals, to a new technology wave that unlocks countless new low-value feedstocks,” said Jim Lane, editor and publisher of The Daily Digest. “These high-value, low-carbon products that will allow so many now, and in years to come to make the transition to a Net Zero Carbon civilization, preserving both the Earth we love and our modern ways of living. This transition requires steadfast leadership, technological prowess, and deep commitment over a long period, and Dr. Chaudhari has shown all those qualities. He was a leader in the first-wave, a leader in the second, and a friend to all who meet him.”

Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, is Executive Chairman of Praj Industries Ltd. He founded Praj in 1983, and developed it into a world-class engineering company specialized in agri-processing. As India’s largest bioeconomy technology company, Praj has completed more than 1,000 engagements in over 100 countries, across five continents. Under his leadership, Praj developed technology for conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to 2nd Generation Renewable Fuels, BioGas and Renewable Chemicals & Materials, and Praj is now executing three commercial advanced biofuels projects for Indian OMCs. Globally, Praj is one of the handful of companies to achieve this feat. Praj has also set up first of its kind integrated demo plant of Compressed biogas (CBG). Further, Praj is also engaged in design & deployment of Biojet fuel technology in collaboration with Gevo Inc, USA.

Dr. Chaudhari has been involved since the very inception of the biofuels industry in India, and led the establishment of the Biofuels Cell under the Confederation of Indian Industries to accelerate growth of the biofuel sector. He is also accredited with pioneering contributions in starting the biofuels movement in Colombia and Thailand.

He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and received an honorary doctorate from the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth university in Pune, India. He received the ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ and ‘Distinguished Service Award’ by IIT, Bombay, and the 2020 George Washington Carver Award from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

The Daily Digest is the world’s most widely-read bioeconomy daily, with more than 5 million unique readers, and organizes ABLC, the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference in Washington and San Francisco each year, which is also carried to a global audience via the Digest’s streaming service. READ MORE

Excerpt from Praj: Speaking on this development, Dr. Chaudhari said that “I am delighted to learn about this award announcement. I see this as a testament to team Praj’s continued endeavours since past four decades in developing and deploying innovative technology solutions in helping conserve the environment. I am particularly happy that the world is taking due notice of India’s capabilities in energy transition through Bioeconomy.”

On 17th March, Dr. Chaudhari will be conferred with this award during the ongoing flagship Global Conference at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) 2022 at Washington DC, USA.

Widely acclaimed as Ethanol Man, Dr. Chaudhari winning this award holds great significance on the backdrop of the important role India played at the recently concluded COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow. COP26 summit acknowledged the pivotal role Advanced Bioeconomy is poised to play, in sustainable climate action. On this backdrop, this award is being seen as recognition of India’s rising prowess in the Global Bioeconomy and contributions in fighting the climate crisis. READ MORE