In the fight against climate change, innovative technologies like Terviva’s pongamia tree offer scalable, long-term solutions. Pongamia trees produce low-carbon feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and plant-based protein, while also serving as a climate-positive alternative to environmentally destructive crops. Unlike soy and oil palm, which contribute to deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, pongamia sinks carbon while growing on distressed farmland that would otherwise be underutilized. However, while the benefits of pongamia are clear, the financing hurdles for large-scale planting remain daunting. Climate tech companies like ours must get creative in bridging the gap between strategic and financial investors to unlock the potential of regenerative agriculture.

The ultimate ‘climate-smart’ crop, nitrogen-fixing Pongamia trees produce significantly more biomass per acre than soybeans with a fraction of the inputs. But scaling and commercializing products from a completely new crop takes time and patient capital, says Terviva cofounder and CEO Naveen Sikka.

Terviva Expands Relationship with ALOHA with New Pa'akai Bar, Made with Sustainable Ponova® Oil

The definitive list of the top 500 AgriFoodTech companies in the world

This legume has superpowers: It's drought tolerant, pest resistant, nitrogen fixing, carbon sequestering, soil remediating, high-yielding and rich in protein. It can provide food and fuel, and combat climate change, all with a single pod. And Terviva wants to plant millions of them to feed billions.

Aloha, Terviva team to launch plant-based protein bar featuring much-anticipated, ‘ultra-sustainable’ Ponova oil