Helping commercial units overcome LPG shortage using alternative energy sources

Since the war in West Asia began a month ago, hotels and industries in Belagavi have been facing the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.

However, a third of them have switched to biomass-based stoves, water heaters and steam generators, thanks to Sameer Kanabargi, an innovator and entrepreneur who runs Phoenix Industries.

For over 35 years, this small unit in the Udyambag Industrial Estate in Belagavi has been silently working in the field of alternative energy sources and disseminating technology developed by premier institutions like IIT, IISc, TERI and others.

Phoenix Industries has designed and produced a range of equipment for the Indian Army and the Border Security Force.

Some of the over two dozen tools and implements produced by Mr. Kanabargi are his own inventions.

Phoenix produces biomass-based stoves, water heaters, gasifiers, steam generators and other equipment. They can be used to feed a small family of two to a crowd of two lakh.

They use inputs, including agriculture waste like bagasse, stems, leaves and other farm residue, twigs, tree branches, coconut shells or other waste, paper, cardboard and plywood.

“The input can be any inflammable waste material. There is no need to modify any of our equipment,” Mr. Kanabargi said.

It is estimated that around 150 of the 350 hotels and around 100 small and medium industries in Belagavi and Maharashtra have switched to biomass-based stoves and burners.

Some of them have made the switch now while those that had stopped using them have returned to the renewable and low-cost energy source.

The current LPG shortage has increased the demand by multiple times and the factory is working in three shifts to meet the demand.

“I think the demand and inquiries we have got in the last 10 days is equal to the demand we received in the last 10 years,” he said.

“While we need to rely on foreign countries for LPG supply, biomass is easily available all around us. In rural areas, it is virtually free, while in the cities, it costs around ₹5-₹7 per kg. Three kilograms of biomass gives the same amount of heat energy as one kilo of LPG. But then, the final cost works out to be 40%-50% cheaper. Industries that use our products have recovered the cost in 30-100 days,” he said.

Mr. Kanabargi was among the earliest adopters of the ASTRA Ole no smoke chulha designed by IISc’s Centre for Application of Science and Technology for Rural Areas.

“We produced over 20,000 model ASTRA Ole that were given to rural poor by the government and other agencies. He was among the few industrialists invited by IIT Bombay for a feasibility study of biomass-based gasifiers and other tools.

He mass produced biomass stoves designed by TERI under its extension programme. He designed a portable room heater that runs on pine needles for BSF personnel working in sub zero temperatures and transferred the technology free.

Mr. Kanabargi says he has this streak of “think differently” from the crowd. “It all started when I was in ninth standard,” he recalls.

He designed a multi-purpose kitchen stove that can cook rice and generate hot water at the same time. He won a State-level award for the project. He still keeps the working model in his office.

He inherited a factory from his father Surendra Kanabargi but soon shifted focus to innovation-based products.

He designed and produced sheep shearing kits and modern Charkhas using bicycle wheels that were faster and needed less labour. These units were commissioned by the India Development Society founded by activists S.R. Hiremath and Shyamala Hiremath.

Dayanand Appayyanavarmath, owner of Shri Basaveshwara Khanavali, has introduced biomass-based stoves and heaters in all his eateries.

“Earlier, we needed two commercial cylinders every day. But by using biomass stoves, we are saving up to ₹600 per day. Moreover, we do not need to depend on any agency to supply us cylinders. If every one adopts this, we can save precious foreign exchange,” he said.

President of Belgaum Hotel Owners Association Ajay Pai was using biomass stoves from 2006 to 2014. “We stopped due to ease of use of cylinders. But we returned to biomass stoves. We use coconut feathers, coconut shells, agricultural waste and firewood. Steam is produced while cooking in the two stoves that we use to heat idlis and milk. We also heat water and use it for cooking,” he said.

Published – April 01, 2026 07:35 pm IST