Biomass Group

What Biomass Group does

Biomass Group is a bio-energy company that produces deforestation-free biomass fuelwood from Gliricidia Sepium trees, harvested through an outgrower model aggregating 50,000+ smallholder farmers across multiple Sri Lankan provinces. Founded in 2012 by Lucky Dissanayake and domiciled in Singapore via Biomass Ventures Pte. Ltd, the operating entity Biomass Supplies (Pvt) Ltd is headquartered in Colombo with a regional office in Puttalam. The core technical concept is sustainable coppicing: only branches are harvested for fuelwood while trunks and roots remain intact, enabling 50+ years of carbon sequestration in the soil and biomass. This architecture earned the company the first Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification in South Asia in 2015 and positioned it as the first smallholder project RSB-certified anywhere in Asia.

The company monetizes through three streams: (1) commercial Gliricidia fuelwood sales to local Sri Lankan industries requiring steam from biomass boilers, with deliveries ongoing since 2013; (2) Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) generated through a VCS/CCBS-certified project developed with South Pole Group, with issuance anticipated from 2021; and (3) an emerging organic food production stream catalyzed by farmers substituting Gliricidia-based organic inputs for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Go-to-market combines enterprise direct-sales to industrial buyers with a community-led field-officer and Women Village Coordinator network that registers farmers on a proprietary IT platform tracking socio-demographic, geospatial, crop-yield, and household-income data for sustainability verification.

Biomass Group is in Phase 2, planning pellet manufacturing and export to Japan and South Korea biomass-fired power and CHP markets, with a stated ambition to replicate the agro-energy model in other equatorial countries. The company is funded by an IFC grant (2012 feasibility study) and InfraCo Asia (first institutional investor, September 2017), with governance supported by independent board members and Big Four advisory partners (EY, PwC). Founder Lucky Dissanayake (Chairwoman) and COO Ramesh Nanayakkara (formerly of British American Tobacco) lead a 51–100 person team that is more than 40% women.

Name

Biomass Group

Legal name

Biomass Group

Website

https://biomass-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Biomass Group is a Singapore-domiciled bio-energy company producing deforestation-free Gliricidia Sepium fuelwood for Sri Lankan industries through an outgrower model aggregating 50,000+ smallholder farmers, with planned pellet exports to Japan and South Korea and emerging voluntary carbon credit revenues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomass Energy

NAICS

Forestry and Logging (113), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAMAGAA

Roundwood Fuelwood Harvesting (Cordwood, Firewood Logs)

Agriculture & Food Production/Forestry & Logging/Fuelwood & Biomass Harvesting

SECONDARYAFAMAGAB

Fuelwood Processing & Firewood Packaging (Cutting, Splitting, Bundling)

Agriculture & Food Production/Forestry & Logging/Fuelwood & Biomass Harvesting

SECONDARYAFAMAGAK

Biomass Transport & Haulage (In-Forest to Plant)

Agriculture & Food Production/Forestry & Logging/Fuelwood & Biomass Harvesting

Keywords

• Biomass fuelwood
• Renewable energy
• Carbon credits
• Sustainable agriculture
• Agricultural residues

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fuelwood Sales: Commercial biomass fuelwood (Gliricidia branches) sold to local Sri Lankan industries including companies requiring steam from biomass boilers. Sustainable and ethical biomass replacing fossil fuels in industrial boilers and power stations.
2. Carbon Credits (VCUs): Sale of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) on voluntary carbon market through VCS/CCB Standard. Partnership with South Pole Group for carbon development. Revenue flows to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Fund supporting farmers and rural communities. 20-year partnership agreements.
3. Organic Food Production: By-product of fuelwood development. Catalyst for organic food production as farmers switch to organic farming techniques using Gliricidia as fertilizer, pesticides, and fungicides. Higher prices expected for organic food produce.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Biomass Group produces and supplies deforestation-free, RSB-certified biomass fuelwood harvested from Gliricidia sepium trees through an outgrower model aggregating 50,000+ smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. The company sells fuelwood to local industries for steam generation in biomass boilers, develops Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) via the VCS/CCBS standard, and supports organic food production using Gliricidia leaves as a natural fertilizer alternative to chemical inputs.

Product overview

Biomass Group is a bio-energy business that operates through two main subsidiaries: Biomass Supplies (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka and Biomass Ventures Pte. Ltd in Singapore. The core product is Gliricidia fuelwood—sustainable, deforestation-free biomass sourced from an outgrower model aggregating 50,000+ smallholder farmers. Additional products include organic food production (catalyzed by using Gliricidia as natural fertilizer) and Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from carbon sequestration in Gliricidia trees. The company generates commercial biomass without owning land or practicing mono-cultivation, instead partnering with farmers who plant Gliricidia as live fences and intercrops.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gliricidia Fuelwood Sustainable and ethical biomass fuelwood sourced from Gliricidia sepium branches harvested via an outgrower model from smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. Branches are coppiced while trunk and roots remain intact for carbon sequestration. Sold to industrial facilities transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable biomass.
• Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) Carbon credits generated through the VCS/CCB Standard project covering the planting of Gliricidia trees in Sri Lanka. Revenue from VCU sales is channeled to a Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Fund that supports farmer partners and rural communities under 20-year partnership agreements.
• Organic Food Production Organic food output catalyzed by training smallholder farmers to use Gliricidia leaves as organic fertilizer, pesticides, and fungicides in place of chemical inputs. Yields higher prices for organic produce from farmers in the outgrower network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million Gliricidia trees planted, creating carbon sink from carbon fixation in trunks and roots
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• South Pole GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss carbon finance consultancy providing carbon development services. Partnered to develop Project Description Document (PDD) for VCS/CCBS certification. Work commenced in 2017. Successfully developed over 500+ emission reduction projects in over 30 countries.
• Business Call to Action (BCtA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember since March 2016. Selected as Impact Champions in 2018 to undertake impact measurement and management against SDGs. Platform launched at UN in 2008 to accelerate progress towards SDGs through inclusive business models.
• Dr. Lionel WeerakooncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForemost expert on Gliricidia in Sri Lanka, known as 'Mr. Gliricidia'. Developed 'Lionel Weerakoon method of Gliricidia propagation'. Training farmers on organic agricultural practices since May 2013.
• Dr. Ananda TennakooncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly Deputy Director of Coconut Research Institute. Specialist on coconut and soil health. Training plantation owners to substitute Gliricidia leaves for urea inputs and on intercropping Gliricidia.
• Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerW+ Standard certification partner. First company in the world to achieve Wocan W+ Certification on VCS/CCBS platform for creating social and economic benefits for women.
• JC (Legal Partner)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal partner for governance and corporate structure.
• DE Salam (Legal Partner)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal partner for governance and corporate structure.
• EY (Audit Partner)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAudit partner for governance and financial reporting.
• PwC (Advisory)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvisory partner for business strategy and consulting.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Enviva: World's largest producer of wood pellets, supplying utility-scale biomass power and CHP customers in Europe and Asia. Comparable as a certified biomass pellet supplier targeting large industrial/utility off-takers, but operates at vastly greater scale and in different geographies.
• Drax Group: UK-listed renewable energy generator and global biomass pellet supplier. Relevant as the dominant downstream buyer/aggregator of sustainable biomass for power generation — the same demand pool Biomass Group's Phase 2 pellet exports will target.
• Pinnacle Renewable Energy: Major industrial wood pellet producer with Asia-Pacific and European customers. Comparable product (industrial biomass pellets) and customer base, but operates as a traditional sawmill-adjacent supplier rather than a smallholder carbon-certified model.

Direct peers

• myclimate: Swiss-based carbon project developer and VCS/Gold Standard registry operator running forestry and smallholder agroforestry carbon projects in Asia and Africa. Comparable as a developer monetising voluntary carbon credits from smallholder-led land-use projects.
• South Pole Group: Swiss carbon finance consultancy that develops emission reduction projects (VCS/CCBS) globally. It is already Biomass Group's carbon development partner but also operates its own project portfolio, making it a directly comparable smallholder/community-based carbon developer with overlapping customer base of voluntary carbon buyers.
• Moringa Partnership: Acumen-backed impact investor and agroforestry developer running outgrower-style smallholder forestry projects across Africa and Latin America. Directly comparable as a smallholder-aggregated sustainable biomass/agroforestry platform combining carbon credits and rural livelihoods.

Others

• Verra: Operator of the VCS Program and CCB Standard — the very standards Biomass Group is certifying under. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but the closest comparable infrastructure for valuing Biomass Group's VCU pipeline.
• InfraCo Asia: PIDG-funded infrastructure developer and current Biomass Group investor. Relevant as both an investor and a portfolio peer — it funds similar renewable infrastructure/outgrower projects across South and Southeast Asia, providing direct comparables on capital structure and project economics.

Regional players

• BURN Manufacturing: East African manufacturer and distributor of clean cookstoves and biomass fuel products sourced from smallholders. Comparable in aggregating smallholder biomass supply for end-user industrial/consumer customers in an emerging market, though focused on cookstove fuel rather than industrial steam.

Emerging players

• FairCarbon.io: European marketplace/platform for certified smallholder forestry carbon credits. Comparable as an emerging player in the same niche — selling VCS-style credits from agroforestry projects to corporate buyers — and a potential distribution channel for Biomass Group's future VCU issuance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biomassgroup

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Biomass Group