altM: India’s Agri-Residue Biomaterials Startup

altM, a pioneering startup founded by former Tesla leaders Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, is strategically addressing the critical challenge of industrial sustainability by converting agricultural residue into high-value industrial biomaterials. Operating from India, the company is scaling sustainable chemistry solutions designed to mitigate environmental pollution and reduce global reliance on fossil-derived raw materials. This initiative marks a significant step towards establishing India as a pivotal manufacturing hub for advanced sustainable materials, leveraging a deep understanding of industrial scaling gained from their extensive experience at Tesla.

Bridging the Gap in Sustainable Industrial Feedstocks

India annually generates hundreds of millions of tonnes of agricultural residue, a substantial portion of which is either burned, contributing to severe seasonal air pollution, or simply discarded as waste. Concurrently, vital industries such as packaging, cosmetics, textiles, and chemicals remain heavily dependent on raw materials derived from fossil fuels. This structural disconnect between abundant biomass waste and the demand for sustainable industrial inputs is precisely what altM was founded to bridge, offering a manufacturing-centric approach to climate solutions.

The genesis of altM stemmed from the founders’ parallel experiences. Apoorv Garg, post-Tesla, observed a recurring challenge at Prometheus Fuels, a company focused on sustainable aviation fuel through carbon capture: scientific breakthroughs often failed to transcend laboratory settings into industrial application. Simultaneously, Yugal Raj Jain was exploring the vast potential of industrial biomaterials and bioplastics in India, envisioning the nation as a global manufacturing powerhouse for sustainable alternatives. Their collective background at Tesla, where they were instrumental in scaling manufacturing programs for Model 3, Model Y, and Model S/X Plaid variants, including international expansion into China and Germany, profoundly influenced their strategic outlook. They recognized that the primary hurdle was not merely scientific discovery but industrialization at scale.

altM’s Integrated Biorefinery Model and Product Innovation

Operating under the name “alternate materials,” altM specializes in developing bio-based chemicals and biomaterials using diverse agricultural residues as feedstock. The company’s core focus is on lignocellulosic biomass, encompassing readily available materials such as rice straw, wheat straw, and sugarcane bagasse. Their proprietary process is executed in two distinct stages: initially, the biomass is meticulously broken down into its fundamental constituent fractions, including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and silica. Subsequently, these isolated fractions undergo proprietary upgradation pathways, meticulously developed by altM’s in-house R&D team, to yield specialized biochemicals and biomaterials.

The overarching objective of altM is to directly replace petrochemical-derived raw materials across a broad spectrum of industries, including beauty and personal care, packaging, construction, textiles, and various industrial chemicals. The company has already successfully advanced three key products to demo scale, selecting them for pilot plant production. These include a cellulose-based rheology modifier specifically designed for cosmetic applications, a formaldehyde-free lignin-based wood adhesive, and a lignin-derived SPF Booster tailored for cosmetic formulations. Unlike many existing bio-based material companies that often extract value from only a single fraction of biomass, altM’s integrated biorefinery model is engineered to process the entire agri-residue stream, simultaneously generating multiple outputs. This holistic approach significantly enhances both resource utilization and economic viability.

Operational Structure and Deep Expertise

Established in Bengaluru in 2022, altM initially benefited from incubation at the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre before transitioning into its own dedicated R&D and pilot manufacturing facility in late 2024. The company’s organizational structure is a direct reflection of its manufacturing-first philosophy. The R&D team is tasked with the development and scaling of new molecules, while the engineering division is responsible for converting these scientific processes into robust, manufacturable systems. Business development focuses on managing customer relationships and validating market demand, and the manufacturing team oversees the operations of the pilot facility and throughput systems. This integrated approach ensures a seamless transition from scientific innovation to industrial production.

A critical component of altM’s expertise is its Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Harshad Velankar, who brings over two decades of extensive experience in microbial and catalytic bioprocesses across India, the United States, and South Africa. This powerful fusion of scientific acumen and manufacturing expertise is fundamental to the company’s product development strategy, where the founders began by conceptualizing the manufacturing system and then built backwards to define the necessary scientific pathways.

Navigating Deeptech Challenges and Market Positioning

altM recognizes that India’s deeptech ecosystem, while improving, is still in its nascent stages. A persistent challenge has been the procurement of highly specialized technical talent and the identification of equipment suppliers capable of supporting advanced process development. The complexities extend beyond mere research; in the realm of industrial materials, scientific performance alone is insufficient. Products must rigorously meet commercial requirements concerning scale, consistency, competitive pricing, and seamless integration into existing industrial systems.

These insights emerged repeatedly from extensive customer discussions. Manufacturers frequently expressed interest in sustainable materials but often harbored assumptions that such adoption would necessitate compromises on either economics or performance. altM’s strategic positioning is meticulously built around disproving this assumption, demonstrating that sustainable materials can meet or exceed conventional performance and economic benchmarks.

Strategic Scaling and Future Commercialization

Currently, altM is generating early validation revenue through its pilot operations. The company anticipates initiating commercial sales in Q3 2026. Its pilot facility operates at an annual capacity of 15 to 50 tonnes. The first full-scale commercial plant, strategically targeted for H1 2027, is projected to operate at a significantly expanded capacity of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 tonnes per annum. The company’s ambitious five-year target is to achieve a cumulative installed capacity of 10,000 tonnes per annum, underscoring its rapid scaling trajectory.

To fuel this growth, altM successfully raised $3.5 million in seed funding in August 2023. The round was led by Omnivore, with notable participation from Theia Ventures, Thai Wah Ventures, and a consortium of strategic individual investors including Suyog Kotecha, Mirik Gogri, and Paula and Ravi Mariwala. The majority of this capital has been judiciously allocated towards establishing critical pilot infrastructure, expanding R&D capabilities, conducting extensive customer trials, and enhancing engineering capacities. This financial backing is crucial for advancing altM’s mission to transform agricultural residue into a valuable industrial feedstock, thereby reducing industries’ dependence on fossil-derived inputs and generating new economic opportunities for farming communities. Europe is slated to be the company’s inaugural international market, driven by stringent regulations concerning sustainable content and emissions reduction. While the fundamental science behind bio-based materials has existed for years, altM is focused on addressing the more complex question of industrial-scale manufacturing, building the essential infrastructure to realize this potential.