A Japanese consortium consisting of Osaka Gas, Sumitomo Corp, and a Japanese government-private sponsored investment fund will invest $370 million in a platform that invests in companies developing city gas distribution networks in India.
The platform, called the Natural Gas Transition Platform, has investments in last-mile city gas distribution businesses including THINK Gas and AG&P Pratham that are developing city gas infrastructure across 19 geographical areas covering 325,000 square kilometers.
The additional capital will be used to support the energy transition in India through the expansion of last-mile city gas distribution infrastructure. I Squared Capital supports India's aim to shift from more carbon-intensive fossil fuels to natural gas, where the country aims to boost the share of natural gas to 15% of its primary energy mix by 2030 from nearly 7% currently.
The platform will also increase investments to boost the consumption of renewable natural gas or biogas in India and the use of green hydrogen using the city gas network.