Building a sustainable future for society is not a thought wrapped in a pseudo-luxury approach. Working towards cleaner air and water, hygienic surroundings, combating poverty, and food security are some of the major areas of debate, discussion, and policy building. These areas demand actionable measures and strategic leadership. The spotlight feature for Business Leaders of the Year 2026 comes as a striking resemblance of unparalleled evolutionary leadership. A sort of leadership that spans more than three decades and is built on the pillars of collaboration, humbleness, and conviction.
Dr. Vikas Kikan founded Beyond Drilling and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. with the goal of streamlining the biomass ecosystem in India. He points out that India has huge potential to transition to alternative fuel and strengthen the net zero vision. With biomass, our country is at a phenomenal position to reshape the trajectory of the economy. The sustainability advocate with a PhD in management is the architect of India’s biomass and bioenergy ecosystem, which is transforming agricultural residues for renewable energy generation and environmental sustainability. This editorial highly praises Dr. Vikas Kikan the “Pellet Man of India” with his 30 years of industry experience into committing to industries like agricultural mechanization, renewable energy, biomass, and circular economy sectors.
But this enormous amount of achievements in strategizing the biomass ecosystem sector did not just happen overnight. Nor did the “solution” to one of India’s biggest concerns in terms of agricultural waste just magically appear in a boardroom meeting. Dr. Vikas Kikan gathered expertise in the agricultural machinery sector and farm equipment businesses and worked closely with farmers to understand the ground reality of the agricultural industry. To not much surprise, Vikas identified that farmers were facing severe challenges in managing crop residues after harvest. His extensive travel to rural India brought him to on-site discussions with farmers, custom hiring centers, machinery operators, and agricultural entrepreneurs. Beyond Drilling and Exploration was born from the idea that agricultural waste can be converted to a dependable alternative to fossil fuels. And the data backed Dr. Vikas Kikan. He shares with us that India was generating millions of tons of crop residues every year, yet most of it was either burned in the fields or left unused. At the same time, industries were struggling to find affordable and sustainable fuel alternatives.
Dr. Vikas Kikan: “Under the Government of India’s biomass co-firing initiatives, thermal power plants are encouraged to replace 5% to 7% of their coal consumption with biomass pellets. Based on India’s coal consumption in the power sector, this translates into an annual biomass pellet requirement of nearly 50 million metric tonnes. Many industry observers consider this number enormous, but when viewed against the broader biomass resource availability in India, it is only the beginning. Government estimates indicate that India generates approximately 770 million metric tonnes of crop residue annually, of which nearly 270 million metric tonnes remain surplus or underutilized every year.”
Under the leadership of Dr. Vikas Kikan, Beyond Drilling and Exploration has evolved the value chain behind biomass, from harvesting and baling to transportation and storage. What’s more riveting is that the farmers were looking for a system that could help them earn additional income while contributing to environmental sustainability. But every emerging industry has to surpass the initial skepticism, and Vikas and Beyond Drilling and Exploration did too. It took time and patience to convince farmers, industries, investors, and policymakers. Today, the world and India are creating insightful discussions on renewable energy, compressed biogas, green fuels, and carbon reduction.
And Dr. Vikas Kikan has been at the forefront of this discussion and proactive efforts on crop residue utilization. To put it simply, Dr. Vikas Kikan is putting forward the biomass sector as an enabler of energy security, carbon reduction, climate resilience, and circular economy practices. Interestingly, this sector does not require any massive infrastructure investments; biomass already exists in abundance across the country in the form of agricultural residues.
Some of the products that Beyond Drilling and Exploration Pvt. Ltd. is working on are biomass pellets both Non-Torrefied and Torrefied, biomass briquettes, green methanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), bio-CNG, biochar, second-generation ethanol, industrial process fuels, compressed biogas (CBG), and carbon credit and carbon removal solutions. Vikas is creating sustainable economic growth for farmers, aggregators, processors, technology providers, and energy producers, which is a holistic service to society.
Vikas Kikan: “A significant milestone in our journey has been securing long-term biomass pellet supply contracts for four thermal power plants. These contracts extend over a seven-year period and represent an order book exceeding INR 2,200 crore. To support these commitments, we are currently supplying approximately 2,500 tonnes of biomass pellets per day, contributing directly to India’s biomass co-firing initiative and helping reduce coal consumption and carbon emissions.”
Beyond Drilling and Exploration is also looking forward to opportunities in emerging sectors such as compressed biogas (CBG), green methanol, biochar, industrial decarbonization, and carbon credit generation. The company has leveraged data and analytics to acquire this amount of widescale growth. Vikas and Beyond Drilling are transforming agricultural residues into valuable energy resources. And this is great for India in terms of employment generation in the rural regions.
As added by Vikas, during FY 2025-26, the company achieved an estimated market share of approximately 20% in biomass pellet supplies to coal-based thermal power plants across India. More significantly, in the specialized torrefied biomass pellet segment, the company commanded nearly 95% market share, making it the clear market leader in this category. While roadblocks are a part of every entrepreneurial journey, Vikas Kikan has taken hurdles as the invaluable asset to seek success because friction teaches reflection. To the upcoming leaders and visionaries, Vikas says, “Waste is not a problem; it is a resource waiting for innovation. The future belongs to those who can transform challenges into sustainable opportunities.”
Driven by his vision to accelerate the growth of India’s biomass sector, Dr. Vikas Kikan also ventured into manufacturing world-class biomass pellet machinery under the TRIO brand. Having closely worked with entrepreneurs and pellet manufacturers across the country, he recognized that the high cost of imported and premium pellet-making equipment was a major barrier to industry growth. With the objective of making advanced biomass processing technology accessible and affordable, Dr. Kikan established TRIO to manufacture high-performance pellet mills, hammer mills, shredders, and other biomass processing equipment without compromising on quality, durability, output, or operational efficiency. Today, TRIO machines are widely recognized for their reliability, superior performance, and cost-effectiveness, making them one of the most preferred choices among biomass entrepreneurs. The brand has witnessed remarkable acceptance across the industry and has emerged as a market leader, with TRIO pellet mills, hammer mills, and shredders consistently surpassing many competing technologies in terms of productivity, operational stability, and return on investment.
Recognizing that the long-term growth of the biomass sector requires collective industry participation and policy support, Dr. Vikas Kikan has also taken a leadership role beyond his business ventures. Along with Mr. Pankaj Mahindroo, widely recognized as the driving force behind India’s mobile manufacturing transformation and currently Chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Dr. Kikan co-founded the Centre of Sustainability for Pure Earth (CSPE) to create a stronger ecosystem for sustainable energy and biomass-related businesses in India. Mr. Mahindroo serves as President of CSPE, while Dr. Vikas Kikan serves as Vice President. The organization works to promote sustainable biomass utilization, facilitate industry-government collaboration, support entrepreneurs entering the sector, and advocate for policies that enable the biomass, bioenergy, and circular economy industries to flourish. Through CSPE, both leaders are committed to creating an enabling platform that accelerates India’s transition towards a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future while generating economic opportunities across rural and industrial value chains.
