Praj Industries Executive Chairman Pramod Chaudhari wins the 2022 Holmberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Advanced Bioeconomy

Prestigious 2022 William C. Holmberg Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement in the Bioeconomy’ was announced to Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, Founder and Chairman, Praj Industries.  He is the first Asian recipient of this global honour that recognizes his exemplary work in Bioeconomy.

Since 2014, William C. Holmberg Award is being presented to distinguished individuals around the world for their trailblazing contribution to the Bioeconomy.  Award is named after the first recipient Lt. Col. William Holmberg, for his pioneering contribution in Bioeconomy and as an architect of renewable fuels program at Dept. of Energy (DoE) & Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USA.

Instituted by the US-based, Biofuels Digest, William C. Holmberg Award is a culmination of critical evaluation by a global panel of industry experts and veterans.  Previous recipients of the award comprised of lawmakers, industry regulators and global corporate headhonchos, all from either US or Europe.

Previous recipients are:

2014 Lt. Col William C. Holmberg
2015 Guido Ghisolfi, CEO, Beta Renewables (posthumous)
2016 Dr. Robert Graham, CEO, Ensyn
2017 Brian Foody, CEO, Iogen
2018 Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy
2019 Senator Charles K. Grassley of Iowa
2021 Dr. Jennifer Holmgren

 While announcing the award, Jim Lane, Founder and Editor – Biofuels Digest mentioned that “Dr. Pramod Chaudhari was the unanimous choice of judges for his steadfast leadership in Global Bioeconomy supported with technological advances in the field of Advanced Bioeconomy to help fulfill the dream of Net-Zero Civilization. I congratulate him for this remarkable achievement.”

Speaking on this development, Dr. Chaudhari said that “I am delighted to learn about this award announcement. I see this as a testament to team Praj’s continued endeavours since past four decades in developing and deploying innovative technology solutions in helping conserve the environment. I am particularly happy that the world is taking due notice of India’s capabilities in energy transition through Bioeconomy.”

On 17th March, Dr. Chaudhari will be conferred with this award during the ongoing flagship Global Conference at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) 2022 at Washington DC, USA. Widely acclaimed as Ethanol Man, Dr. Chaudhari winning this award holds great significance on the backdrop of the important role India played at the recently concluded COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow. COP26 summit acknowledged the pivotal role Advanced Bioeconomy is poised to play, in sustainable climate action. On this backdrop, this award is being seen as recognition of India’s rising prowess in the Global Bioeconomy and contributions in fighting the climate crisis.

Dr. Chaudhari has been involved since the very inception of the biofuels industry in India, and led the establishment of the Biofuels Cell under the Confederation of Indian Industries to accelerate growth of the biofuel sector. He is also accredited with pioneering contributions in starting the biofuels movement in Colombia and Thailand.  

He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and received an honorary doctorate from the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth university in Pune, India. He received the ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ and ‘Distinguished Service Award’ by IIT, Bombay, and the 2020 George Washington Carver Award from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.