Granules India ties up with Greenko Group for 'green' pharma zones

As a part of the partnership, Granules and Greenko ZeroC will develop and promote state-of-the-art Integrated Green Pharmaceutical Zones (GPZ) with first collaboration in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad-based drug maker Granules India has entered into a strategic partnership with Greenko Group to develop a first-of-its-kind Integrated Green Pharmaceutical Zones (GPZ) starting with Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

The company in a statement on Tuesday said through its strategic partnership with Geenko ZeroC to collaborate for Green Molecule Solutions and its wider applications in pharmaceuticals it aims to build a leadership position in sustainability and circular economy initiatives and be a pioneer in the industry.

This is significant as the pharmaceutical industry typically uses chemicals, which are linked to high carbon emissions, and bulk drug makers are considered to be a polluting industry.

As a part of the partnership, Granules and Greenko ZeroC will develop and promote state-of-the-art Integrated Green Pharmaceutical Zones (GPZ) in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

“Granules will build a green field facility based on sustainability principles for large-scale manufacturing of key starting materials (KSMs), Intermediates, APIs and fermentation-based products. The facility spread across 100 acres, will be commissioned in a phase-wise manner. The estimated cost of the project will be approximately Rs 2,000 crore over five years,” the statement said. Granules will use carbon-free energy and green hydrogen derivatives supplied by Greenko ZeroC that are used to make KSMs for anti-diabetic drugs, paracetamol, etc. Granules is one of the world’s largest producers of paracetamol and metformin molecules.

Greenko Zero C is a step down subsidiary of parent Greenko Energy Holdings (GEH) set up for various green hydrogen and energy transition initiatives. The collaboration allows utilisation of fungible carbon offset instruments across Granules’ global manufacturing locations, the company said.

Greenko ZeroC will supply carbon-free energy and enable green hydrogen, along with its various chemical derivatives, the company statement said. Granules will also manufacture energy intensive fermentation-based products at this facility using carbon-free energy.

“The partnership with Greenko will power our sustainability journey by minimising carbon footprint and impact of our operations on the environment,” said Krishna Prasad, chairman & managing director of Granules. He added that sustainability and green chemistry will help to minimise carbon footprint and reduce waste across their value chain.

“This innovative and pioneering partnership will propel the transformation of industrial manufacturing to be more sustainable and competitive with technologically superior and green solutions,” said Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, CEO and MD at Greenko.

Greenko Group, India’s leading Energy Transition company, has an installed capacity of 7.5 Gw across solar, wind and hydro assets spread over 100 projects in 15 states and delivers 20 billion units of renewable energy annually, constituting 1.5-2 per cent of the country’s total electricity consumption.