When we began this year, one of our many predictions for the tech ecosystem included this claim: “Climate Tech’s Moment In The Sun”.

But as it turned out, 2023 was one of the slowest years in the past decade for climate tech funding. Amid the ongoing funding winter and a slowdown in climate tech funding globally, Indian climate tech startup funding fell almost one-third year-on-year (YoY) in 2023.

Inc42 data till November 2023 shows that funding in the Indian climate tech startups has touched $4 Bn since 2014, slightly higher than the $2.7 Bn raised until 2016. It must be noted that the aforementioned funding figures exclude the electric vehicles and e-mobility sector in which the total funding has surpassed $2.6 Bn so far since 2014. 

However, as per a PwC report published in October, funding in climate tech has declined globally this year. This is partly because the investor focus has shifted from mobility to areas where business models are yet to be proven.  

Despite government policies being floated to support industries such as electric mobility and alternative sources of energy and the emergence of climate-specific private funds, the climate tech sector has yet to reach the level of growth anticipated by everyone.

At the COP26 summit in 2021, India pledged to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070. This target is still not in line with other countries looking to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Recently, at the COP28 summit in 2023, India once again said it intends to transition away from fossil fuels. 

However, India seems to be adopting a relatively slower path to mitigate any adverse impact on the broader economic growth, as many have argued in the past. But that doesn’t mean government policies are not aligned with net zero goals. 

For one, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has set a framework and various incentive schemes for the adoption of renewable energy to augment clean mobility and innovative technologies such as green hydrogen. 

Interestingly, in India, mobility continues to be a major focus but as per Inc42’s interaction with multiple investors and industry experts, the interest in the climate tech space has started getting more diverse with more experiments now increasing across these sub-sectors:

• Green hydrogen
• Agrifood and life sciences, which include sustainable agriculture and food production 
• Circular economy, which includes recycling
• Sustainable aviation fuel 
• Low-carbon cement, water conservation, among others

However, it must be noted that these are still early days. Despite the enthusiasm at the beginning of 2023, this has been a slow year for climate tech, and not just in India.

India is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally. But looking ahead to 2024, can we expect this to change? 

Well, industry experts foresee the climate tech landscape to continue its rapid evolution in 2024. They see collaborations between startups, corporations, and governments driving the development of holistic climate solutions.

As part of our Indian Tech Outlook 2024 series, Inc42 talked to several sectoral experts to understand the climate tech trends that will shape the forthcoming year, and here’s what we have learnt. 

6 Climate Tech Predictions For 2024

Green Hydrogen Boom Imminent

In January 2023, the Indian government approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an initial outlay of INR 19,744 Cr and to develop a green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 Mn metric tonnes per year along with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW. The aim is to reduce India’s cumulative fossil fuel imports by over INR 1 Lakh Cr. 

Sindoor Mittal, vice-chairperson at sustainable energy company Avaada Group, told Inc42 that green hydrogen is going to be the next big thing in the country. Mittal believes that large-scale investments are expected in green hydrogen space, particularly in electrolyser technology.

For one, India aims to become an exporter of green hydrogen while also enabling decarbonisation of its industrial, mobility and energy sectors, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and feedstock, creating jobs, and others.

“We are seeing a lot of investments going into electrolyser technology globally and India is showing promising growth. When we were looking at green hydrogen initially, we thought it would be primarily for exports but I think India itself is now focussing on bringing in green hydrogen within its ecosystem,” Mittal added. 

The Indian government has rolled out standards for green hydrogen production and this is one area that everyone is watching out for, she added. And that also includes larger conglomerates. 

For instance, Essar Group has signed a deal with the Gujarat government to develop a 1 GW green hydrogen project in the state at an estimated investment of INR 30,000 Cr.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has also reportedly proposed an exemption on duties and taxes till 2035 on equipment imports for setting up export-oriented green hydrogen projects.

The government has also initiated discussions for exporting green hydrogen in several European countries.

Riding this wave, several startups have started entering the space. The names include Hygenco, h2e Power Systems, and NewTrace. Last year, Hygenco raised $25 Mn in funding from SBICAP Ventures’ Neev II fund. The 2021-founded NewTrace, which develops batteries and electrolysers for producing green hydrogen, has raised $6.6 Mn so far from the likes of Speciale Invest and Micelio Fund.

Circular Economy To Gain Prominence

Early-stage VC firm Kalaari Capital said in a research report last year that circular economy adoption will help India generate savings of over $624 Bn by 2050 across sectors such as food production and agriculture, construction, and mobility, as well as fashion and metallurgy.

In practice, the circular economy involves reducing waste to a minimum and extending the lifecycle of products by reusing, repairing, refurbishing, recycling, and sharing and leasing existing materials and products

Recycling startups such as Lohum, Attero, and Metastable Materials are gaining more prominence in India, along with VC backing, amid the push for recycling hazardous electronic wastes such as lithium-ion batteries or discarded electronic devices. 

Meanwhile, the likes of Phool (eco-friendly incense products), Angirus (recycled construction material), D2C brand Neeman’s (shoes made out of recycled plastic bottles), and Sea6 Energy (fresh seaweed used to make environmentally friendly products) are a few of the many Indian startups that are innovating bio-waste recycling. 

Anjali Bansal, founding partner at Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund believes that capital will flow into innovative projects, specifically in areas like alternative materials and circular economy practices. 

She also believes that solutions for agritech, water management, grid-scale energy storage, and large-scale mobility are anticipated to receive more attention and funding. 

“These are considered frontier technologies, where significant market mechanisms and substantial financing are yet to fully materialise. However, this situation also presents a unique opportunity for creating innovations and realising substantial returns over the next several years,” Bansal told Inc42.

Role Of Sustainable Agriculture, Food & Life Sciences To Grow

While agritech adoption has grown in spurts among some farmers and food production organisations, sustainable agri and food production practices are the niche areas of development in India. 

Green Frontier Capital’s Bhammer believes that the broader agritech sector holds immense promise, with startups pioneering solutions that not only enhance crop yield but also reduce environmental impact. 

Similarly, Omnivore’s Mark Kahn is a big proponent of India’s future in the agrifood and life sciences space. While the global agrifood life sciences revolution has the US and China at its centre, Kahn believes India has the right entrepreneurial spirit and investor ecosystem to be a part of the agrifoods and life sciences boom.

Broadly speaking, the agrifoods and life sciences space includes four categories — agricultural biotechnology, novel farming systems, bioenergy and biomaterials, and innovative foods. Omnivore launched the OmniX Bio initiative to back early-stage agrifood life science startups allocating roughly 15% of its $130 Mn corpus or $20 Mn towards this project

Omnivore has invested in companies such as BioPrime, which develops crop inputs to enhance farm yields, as well as Bengaluru-based Loopworm, which enables optimised insect farming for small farmers while producing value-added nutrients and ingredients for B2B customers.

Given that Indian R&D in this regard is still nascent, Kahn added that startups need to start doing the legwork in building the knowledge base to fuel innovation in agrifoods and life sciences and agritech.

Experts also believe that there is an increasing focus on supplements such as alternative sources of meat, protein supplements, and other supplements such as collagen. D2C brands like OZiva and Cureveda are witnessing increasing traction. Besides, the likes of MuscleBlaze and Boldfit have also started diversifying their product offerings with plant-based supplements. 

AI To Push Climate Tech Ahead

There is hardly any sector that is not touched by the advancement in AI globally. Interestingly, in climate tech, AI has started playing a crucial role in the advancement of tracking methods for emissions, monitoring them, as well as increasing efficiency, reducing cost, and more.

Avaana’s Bansal said, “Predictive modelling and decision-making are key for planning effective mitigation and adaptation pathways, and AI tools are stepping up to the task. In areas like financing, credit underwriting, and parametric insurance, AI is enhancing decision-making processes and accelerating these critical functions.”

AI is expected to have a notable impact on energy optimisation and industrial mechanisation, where software solutions are boosting overall energy efficiency. Avaada Group, too, is leveraging AI for better efficiency, productivity, and cost. 

Currently, the company is running pilots in its solar power plants with the help of AI, which has helped Avaada improve its yield and reduce costs. This increased efficiency is an additional delta in increasing the adoption rate of the technology, Mittal explained.

Will Funding Pick Up For Climate Tech Startups? 

Even though funding for climate tech has remained low in the past few years, the pool of investors has grown with time. 

However, an analysis by Inc42 showed that across 13 deals climate tech startups raised just $24 Mn this year until November. This is less than half of the tally of $66 Mn in 2022. Climate tech investments from venture capital and private equity fell 40% in 2023 as economic uncertainty and geopolitical conflict dented investor confidence.

Speaking on the evolving funding landscape, Bhammer said that climate tech has fallen in absolute terms but continues to be a larger part of VC and PE funding each year. Investors are displaying a heightened interest in climate tech startups, recognising not only their potential for significant environmental impact but also their capacity to yield impressive returns on invested capital. 

Shruthi Cauvery Iyer, the founder and managing partner of CaHa Capital, which launched a climate tech and climate finance-focussed venture studio this year, also believes that the funding landscape in the sector is quite bright.

“We are seeing a lot of interest in climate tech and good evidence for that is the increasing number of climate accelerators, climate funds, and climate venture studios. We see today that a lot of fund managers are thinking about either adding climate as an investment vertical to their thesis or just a purely climate-focussed fund,” Iyer said

Iyer believes that two to three years ago, this discussion around climate was absent. While a lot of credit for this turnaround has to go to the EV sector, she added that clean mobility is no longer the hot sector in climate tech and has been “over-represented”. 

“Our internal research indicated that around 1,000 electric mobility startups were incorporated last year. And when a sector becomes that crowded, you can’t say who the winners will be. Raising funding also becomes a problem because everyone approaches investors with the same idea,” Iyer said.

A Shift In Focus From Electric Mobility

Other investors had also previously noted that the focus is indeed shifting from EV OEMs towards sub-segments, including battery technology and recycling.

However, some industry experts believe that large-scale mobility is anticipated to receive more attention and funding since the potential to change the market is immense in such models. 

Sustainability is no more just a fad, rather it has undergone a more “real” fundamental shift in both mindset and business strategy both at a national and international level. 

“It’s not easy for funds to be specialists in life sciences, pure climate tech, hardware or deeptech and carbon credits. It took a while for VCs to get familiar with other sectors too, so the process has begun and we will see more specialist funds in the coming months,” Kahn told Inc42 earlier this year.

Having said that, 2024 will not be starkly different from 2023 because climate tech models have a longer development cycle and investors need to see precedents and proofs of concepts before deploying large amounts of capital. 

“Climate tech is not a vertical play. It’s a horizontal opportunity because it affects everyone and all businesses will need to adopt some form of climate tech to remain sustainable in the future,” according to Siddhanth Jayaram, cofounder of carbon credits startup Climes.

But founders acknowledged that while climate tech is a huge opportunity, the VC world has not woken up to it. VCs have been habituated by the returns cycles in non-climate businesses, but the same realisation involves a longer horizon when it comes to climate tech. Will 2024 change this notion? 

The post 6 Climate Tech Predictions For 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India has come out of a deficit monsoon and barely escaped a drought year. Despite 5.6% deficit in overall rainfall numbers (820 mm against average normal rainfall of 860 mm); monsoon in the year 2023 at best can be called as erratic, across months as well as across regions. 

While the month of June was deficit (-9%) July witnessed surplus rains (+13%), August saw biggest deficit ever (-36 %), thankfully September rains (+13%) had something to cheer. 

The regional and seasonal monsoon volatility is not a one-off event anymore but becoming a pattern from one year to another. The weather vagaries are not limited to India alone. 

Europe has experienced heat waves like never before. The Hawaiian and Canadian wildfires are a testimony to the looming dangers to the biodiversity of the planet earth and humanity at large.

There is no sector of the Indian economy, which is immune to the climate changes. However, one of the most adversely impacted sectors continue to be agriculture as reflected in stagnating or declining productivity of the major crops. 

It is fair to say that the sustainability of agri and food supply chain going forward depends on the acceptance and mitigation of climate risks, complemented by actions for building enough climate resilience and adaptation mechanisms amongst value chain actors.

The smallholder farmers (about 120 Mn in India and over 500 Mn globally) clearly share a disproportionate risk of climate changes than any other value chain player. 

The consumers at the other end of the supply chain are equally vulnerable, but have not realised the impact in equal measures as much as farmers; thanks to the sustained food security and supply, even during pandemic years. 

However, if perennial food inflation is an indicator to go by, the consumers cannot take food availability for granted forever. 

The ongoing COP28 deliberations are likely to sharpen focus on policy drivers and collaborations to drive sustainability in the food sector. 

India being one of the largest food producers and consumers has an added responsibility to drive the policy narrative at the global stage.

In this context, it’s time we start building a strong policy agenda as well as a vibrant innovation ecosystem addressing climate challenges in Indian agriculture. An enabling policy along with disrupting climate innovations is the need of the hour. 

This article profiles some of the innovations in the agri-climate-tech space and how building a “public digital good specific to climate” for agriculture can catalyse the entrepreneurial ecosystem, to the benefit of farmers and other food value chain participants.

Arrival Of Climate Entrepreneurs

Over last few years, there are enough deliberations at the industry and policy level to make food supply chain climate-resilient. The policy prescriptions and industry actions need to match with the emerging entrepreneurial energy to bring the desired change.  

Thankfully, the sheer number and quality of entrepreneurs, trying to build business models to fight climate change are growing in proportions and that to me is the biggest hope to solve for the climate challenges that lies ahead for agriculture in India and globally.

If one looks at the history of Indian agritech, the dawn of agritech in India happened about 15 years ago but climate-tech remained peripheral to it for over a decade. It’s only in the recent past that climate-tech is becoming more nuclear and integral to agritech, not only to entrepreneurs’ business models but also to the investors’ thesis.

This is driven by entrepreneurs’ realisation that climate-tech and agritech are not binary but essentially two sides of the same coin. Resource optimisation and unit economics go hand in hand in value creation for unlocking VC-friendly returns. It is fair to say that the winning models in agritech will have climate resilience as one of the key foundational layers.

Also, many customers and users of agritech especially the large food companies like Unilever, Nestle, Danone, Olam etc and retailers like Amazon, Walmart have made commitments publicly on making the supply chains net-zero over next 2-3 decades, so these companies have no option but to partner with their supplier base to honour their commitments. 

The downstream players of the food value chain (retailers, food brands) which so far have largely remained oblivious to the challenges of the upstream players (specifically farmers), are realising the need for supply chain integration, more accountability, higher transparency and end-to-end traceability. 

The climate crisis can possibly cure for the perpetual bipolar disorder of food value chain by bringing the “food” and “agri” ends closer.

Landscaping Climate Tech Innovations In India

The canvas of innovations in agri-climate-tech is still evolving and irrespective of how much one paints; parts of the canvas will still look blank. 

Let me still attempt to put a brush around the type of innovations the agri-climate space is witnessing. 

Broadly, they can be segmented into three buckets- “largely digital”, “largely physical” and “supply chain innovations”.

Largely Digital

These innovations typically include capturing data about weather, soil and plant health from multitude of sources such as whether stations, satellites, drones, sensors, IoT devices, scanners, smart phones etc. The evolution of hardware devices along with growing data modelling capabilities is at the core of such innovations.

The use cases of such digital solutions are essentially in climate risk mitigation including farmer advisory to reduce crop loss; estimate losses on account of flood/ drought; estimate soil nutrition and moisture for optimising fertilizer and water use; build climate-linked lending and parametric insurance products, traceability solutions that can potentially facilitate carbon trades using audited and verified data points; cattle health management for nutrition efficiency resulting in less methane emissions etc

The examples of startups in this category include SatSure, CropIn, Leads Connect, RMSI, Bharat Rohan, Frugal Labs, Borlaug Web Services, Agnext, Boomiitra, Stellapps etc. This category has seen VC interest but data monetisation at scale remains a challenge despite relatively better margin profile.

Largely Physical

These solutions include a variety of physical interventions including products, devices, machines, biologicals to drive climate resilience. 

The use of dehydrators, cold rooms, bulk coolers, CA storages, silos for reducing post-harvest losses; urea deep placement machines for optimising urea consumption; hydrogels for water use efficiency; bio stimulants, plant extracts, drones for minimising use of agrochemicals; bore chargers to improve water table; polyhouses for resource efficiency etc would fall into this category. 

Some of these physical interventions also have complementary digital tools for better efficacy of solutions like sensors / IoT devices in cold rooms, greenhouses or optical cameras mounted on drones.

Some examples in this category would include likes or S4S Technologies, Promethean, Inficold, Ecozen, Rukart, EF Polymer, GreenPod, Absolute, Bioprime, Sea6 Energy, Marut drones, Urdhvam, Distinct Horizon, Kheyti, Takachar etc. 

This category of startups needs impact / catalytic capital/ blended finance support at the beginning of their journey before venture capital kicks in. Both margin and scale potential in this category is in the moderate to high range.

Supply Chain Innovations

These include tech-enabling supply chains for dis-intermediation to align supply with the demand. The market linkage startups operating in the – whole or parts – of farmers-to-consumer value chain, such as WayCool, DeHaat, FarMart, Samunnati, Falca, Bioveda, Innoterra, KisanKonnect, Maalexi, Mango Dairies, Digigrain are some of the examples. 

Though the primary thesis for this segment of startups has been around building demand-driven tech-enabled supply chains, but in this process, these business models have contributed to shrinking food losses / waste thus improving climate resilience of food supply chains.

Likewise, factory-to-farm models focused on supplying quality inputs to farmers, riding on prescriptive farmer advisory models, end up optimising use of agri-inputs including chemical fertilizers, agrochemicals and water. Startups like Agrostar, BigHaat, Behtar Zindagi, Unnati, Upaz, Freshokartz, Hesa would fall into this category.

As many of these supply chain platforms are gaining scale, manging hundreds and thousands of tonnes of food on daily basis; they are also becoming carriers, platforms or super-apps of climate innovations in the- digital and physical categories – as described above. 

This category of startups has attracted the maximum amount of capital in the last decade invested in the Indian agritech (about 80% of the total $3 Bn plus VC investment). This segment of startups has demonstrated scale but margin improvement for many of them still remains work in progress.

In addition to the above three buckets, another category in climate innovations includes the package of practices (PoP), mostly driven by universities, research institutions and corporates. 

PoPs have been existent for many years before the arrival of climate startups. These PoPs include drip irrigation, direct seeding of rice, zero tillage practices, ethanol production from agricultural byproduct, use of biodigesters, conversion of stubbles to biochar / fuel / packaging, use of cattle feed additives etc. 

Many of these practices have been adapted in parts but need more policy push along with entrepreneurial energy for mass adoption by farmers.

It’s Time To Build Climate-Stack For Indian Agriculture 

Though there are plethora of innovations as discussed above in the climate-tech space; they are still far from wide scale adoption, required for catalysing a large-scale disruption to get closer to net-zero targets. 

Given the gravity of climate problems and the need for urgency to solve for climate challenges, it’s time to think about building a climate stack for Indian agriculture (we can name it as “Clistack” for the lack of a better acronym or word). 

Though other segments of the economy also need a climate stack as much as it is needed for agriculture but probably agriculture needs it more urgently than any other sector.

So, the question is what could be the components of the Agri-clistack, potential use-cases and its ability to catalyse climate innovations at scale to drive climate risk mitigation, resilience and adaptation.

Components Of Clistack

The three most important parameters impacting the agriculture sustainability are: weather, soil and water from climate perspective. 

Though it requires debate and rigorous technical discussions on whether these three variables are good enough to build a clistack; nonetheless these three variables can make a good start. 

The best part about these three variables is that there is tech available to measure these variables accurately, at scale, at requisite granularity and almost in real-time.  The hierarchy and weights of sub-parameters of these three variables needs further technical discussion.

Figure: Proposed Clistack Architecture

Weatherstack comprises of variables such as rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, humidity, wind direction and speed which impact crop health, production, harvest, storage and shelf life of farm produce.  

All weather parameters can be captured through weather stations and some through satellites. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) along with many private players like Skymet, WRMS have set up thousands of weather stations across India and also use remote sensing for weather data capture and prediction.

The almost-real-time transmission of data from weather station to a central server/ cloud is possible. Many new AI tools are being developed for processing and disseminating the weather data. Skymet recently launched a conversation product using Generative AI where farmer can get voice based customised weather advisory. The government of India is also targeting to cover the entire country with Doppler radars for accurately predicting extreme weather events.

Soilstack

Soilstack comprises parameters impacting the crop production including soil nutrition – macro nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur). Micro nutrients (Zinc, Iron, Cobalt, Manganese, molybdenum, Copper, Chlorine, Boron), organic matter, soil pH; electrical conductivity, microbial count.

The Government of India has set up a network of soil testing labs (about 11,500) to provide advisory to farmers on use of fertilisers and nutrient use. Some of the private sector companies especially those in the fertiliser business have also set up their soil testing labs. 

However, many soil testing labs are non-functional. Building a strong soil testing infrastructure along with the digitisation of soil data can go a long way in enabling the soilstack platform.  

In the last few years, we have seen surge of many soil testing startups such as Krishitantra, Bhu-Parikshak from Agronxt (rapid soil testing technology developed by IIT Kanpur), Neoperk, Soilsense, Ekosight etc.  

The portable machines / devices developed by these startups can give results on some of the vital parameters of soil health in a matter of minutes.  The new-age technologies riding on portability of devices, accessibility to farmers and affordability will complement in building the soilstack.

Waterstack

Waterstack can technically be part of weatherstack (as major contributor of water for agriculture is rainfall) or could be part of soilstack (as soil moisture / ground water is another major source). 

However, given the sensitivity and the quantum of water consumption (80% of water available in India is used for the purpose of agriculture – estimated at about 800-900 billion cubic meters) along with low water use efficiency (<50% in many crops), it may be good idea to keep water as a separate parameter for the attention it deserves. 

There are enough innovations to measure water availability in soil at surface and sub-surface (root zone) level. The use of sensors and IoT devices can accurately measure the water availability in the soil to estimate quantum of water / timing of irrigation. 

Even satellite imagery can detect surface level moisture. There are many startups in India such as Cultyvate, Sense it out, Satyukt and even irrigation companies like Netafim, Rivulis; have built their proprietary tech stacks to measure soil moisture to improve water use efficiency through better irrigation scheduling, precision irrigation and fertigation. 

To summarise, the technology (both hardware as well as data analytics capabilities) has advanced enough for measuring weather, soil and water parameters to enabling a pan-India data-driven clistack. 

However, the penetration, distribution, density of the hardware devices needs a scientific architecture. The algorithms and units to measure and report data needs standardisation / uniformity to bring clistack alive. 

The question is the granularity and frequency of data collection for the purpose of building clistack. The weather data is unlikely to change significantly within a village though there could be farm-to-farm variations for soil as well as water parameters.  

However, “a farm as a unit” may be bit too ambitious to begin with hence “a village as a unit” could be a good starting point in building this stack. The frequency of weather data collection could be daily whereas the frequency for soil and water data could be once in crop season (3-4 months). This is because of higher time sensitivity of weather data as compared to the other two. 

Given the reducing cost of hardware and improving data analytic capabilities; the investment required to build and maintain stack is not going to be significantly large. 

A lot of these investments have already been made but there could be hardware / software gaps from a stack perspective which needs to be filled. Also, there is need to build frameworks as well as an institution to conceive, build, maintain, regulate and open-source clistack for potential users.

Another positive characteristic of clistack is that there is no personal data involved, hence hopefully the concerns around data privacy are limited as compared to other stacks where personal data is integral to stack.

Use Cases Of Clistack

Though I believe there could be many use cases of clistack for the government as well as private sector, the top five most-obvious use cases are as follows:

Farmer Advisory

Farmers in India are getting digitally literate. A recent report on “State of the Digital Agriculture Sector” published by Beanstalk states that there are about 50 million farmers in low- and medium-income countries actively using digital tools out of which over 50% farmers (about 27 million) come from south Asia region, with as much as 86% farmers (out of 27 million) are from India. 

This implies that about 10-15% of Indian farmers are already using some digital tool for the purpose of accessing market linkage, advisory, price discovery etc.

The ability to collect, analyse and report data at scale, in a form that can be useful to farmers, is possible with the use of clistack. The improved penetration of digital tools and smart phones among farmers can make the transmission of the data to the farmers almost in real time. 

The data about weather, soil and water geotagged to farmer location/ village can seamlessly be integrated from the point of data collection to each and every village, resulting in pragmatic insights for the farmers. 

The layering of clistack over agristack (another important stack which is under development by the government) can enable farm / farmer specific personalised advisory.

Climate-Linked/ Green Financing

This has often been talked but rarely practiced because of lack of necessary data, digitisation and regulatory framework around it. Clistack can provide authenticated and standardised data sets to bankers to assess climate risk for the purpose of underwriting.

The Climate Risk Index (CRI) can be built in as a derivative index of clistack, which banks can use for developing climate-linked lending rates, at least at the village level. 

The personal credit score of farmers calibrated to CRI could potentially determine the farm lending rates, hopefully giving enough incentives to farmers / farmer group / FPOs within a village to collectively reduce CRI. 

CRI reporting could potentially lead to healthy competition among villages to adapt good climate practices to lower the value of CRI (like city ranking as part of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” has triggered competition among cities for cleanliness)

Parametric Insurance

The sachet insurance products linked to weather or climate to derisk farming are in demand. It has already been demonstrated by startups like IBISA, WRMS, Gramcover who are developing and distributing such products to farmers. 

The scale of parametric insurance products depends on getting the requisite data from multiple sources for product development, calibrating risk, ascertaining premiums and distributing the insurance products through partners in rural areas.

Clistack can help build parametric insurance products at scale. It will also assist startups in developing customised products for farmers given the granularity and frequency of data which can be made available through clistack. Agristack data can be used for selling and distributing these products.

Policy Development

India is the third largest emitter accounting for 7% of GHG emission. The government of India has committed to the net-zero target by 2070 that needs a series of actions to reduce GHG emission. 

India has the challenge as well as a unique opportunity to be the first few or the only country in the history of transitioning economies from developing to developed country; to demonstrate 6-8% YoY GDP growth with the least usage of fossil fuels.

Agriculture is one of the prime contributors of GHG emissions (about 14% of GHG emission comes from agricultural activities in India). 

The Government of India already has the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) and many schemes for sustainable growth of agriculture. 

Clistack can provide the necessary data (by crops, geographies) which can help policy makers to prioritise action points to reduce emissions. 

The government is also promoting crop diversification schemes incentivising farmers to move from crops like paddy to maize / millets which are less resource intensive. 

Such policies can be made more effective with time series data coming from clistack, by measuring the impact of such policies.

The Priority Sector Lending (PSL) regime for agriculture (mandated at 18% of outstanding credit by banks) to enable institutional credit to farmers and agri value chain players could potentially build incentives for farmers for climate adaptation by linking lending rates / repayment to it. The regulatory framework for carbon trades in agriculture could be based on clistack data.

The loan waiver management policies for farmers could also be guided by clistack, for example if CRI (a proxy for climate risk) increases by 50% in a season due to poor weather / soil/ water; it makes a case for loan restructuring / waiver amongst farmers affected by such events.

Demand Supply Alignment

While the food demand does not change overnight; supply of food gets impacted by seasonal variations and regional arbitrage which in turn gets impacted by the climate changes. Clistack data, triangulated with other data points, could be used in estimating production and supply of a given commodity at a given point of time from a given geography. 

This can help in preventive and corrective actions to bridge demand supply gaps mitigating the unreasonable / inflationary price shocks for consumers as well as farmers.

In Conclusion

The enormity of impact of the above use cases for farmers, consumers, government and value chain players make a strong case for building clistack and as mentioned earlier given its non-personalised character with significant infrastructure already in place, it should not take significant effort or investment to build it.

The effort is required in building the policy architecture, standards, necessary physical / digital infra to cover each and every village of India to begin with. The investment required is incremental and insignificant in the context of the benefits that will accrue. 

India over the years has evolved as the world’s capital of “digital public goods” (UPI, ONDC, OCEN, Agristack etc to name a few) and clistack could be another stack where India can take the lead. 

Clistack is not only required for Indian agriculture’s sustainability but also is relevant for the resilience and longevity of global agri and food systems. The government can partner with startups even for building and maintaining clistack as we have seen in the pilot stages of agristack.

What does clistack mean for startups and investors?  – It will create an ocean of innovations around climate risk mitigation, climate resilience and adaptation in the food value chain. Startups, instead of spending VC money on creating proprietary stacks, could ride on clistack to construct interesting APIs without worrying about data collection and validation. 

Intersection of clistack and agristack will help build many farmer-centric innovations with significantly low first / last mile cost with negligible CACs. 

Investors hopefully will see a healthy deal flow, propelled by this stack, to figure out compelling investable business models for 20% plus IRR returns. 

Climate tech investment opportunities in agriculture which are hard to find in the current environment, can potentially become mainstream in a matter of a few years. 

Global and Indian investors will witness a new asset class in agri climate-tech space which can generate IRRs to the liking of VCs and PEs, potentially matching or even outperforming the returns delivered by conventional sectors/ themes.

The post Time To Build Climate-Stack For Indian Agriculture appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the world grapples with the pressing need to transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, solar power has emerged as a frontrunner in the race toward a greener future. 

Solar energy technology continues to evolve and improve, driven by advancements in materials, manufacturing processes, and innovative approaches. 

In this article, we’ll explore the exciting emerging trends in sustainable solar energy technology that are shaping the future of energy production.

High-Efficiency Solar Panels

One of the most significant trends in solar technology is the relentless pursuit of higher efficiency. Conventional silicon solar panels have made remarkable progress, but researchers are now focusing on next-generation technologies. 

Tandem solar cells, which combine different materials to capture a broader spectrum of sunlight, and perovskite solar cells, known for their efficiency potential, are at the forefront of this innovation. These technologies promise to maximize electricity generation while reducing the cost per watt.

Bifacial Solar Panels

Bifacial solar panels represent a breakthrough in solar panel design. Unlike traditional panels that capture sunlight from one side, bifacial panels can harvest energy from both the front and rear sides. This dual-sided exposure increases energy production, making them a popular choice for utility-scale solar installations.

Flexible And Lightweight Solar Panels

The demand for solar panels that can be integrated into various applications is driving the development of flexible and lightweight solar panels. These panels can be used on curved surfaces, integrated into building materials, and even made transparent. As a result, the potential applications for solar power expand, from vehicle-integrated solar panels to solar-integrated clothing.

Energy Storage Solutions

Solar energy’s intermittent nature requires efficient energy storage solutions to ensure a consistent power supply. Lithium-ion batteries have dominated the energy storage market, but emerging technologies like solid-state batteries and flow batteries offer higher energy density, longer lifespans, and improved safety. These innovations are vital for storing excess solar energy for nighttime and cloudy days.

Solar Tracking Systems

Solar trackers are becoming increasingly prevalent in large-scale solar installations. These systems adjust the angle and orientation of solar panels to follow the sun’s path throughout the day, ensuring maximum exposure to sunlight. Single-axis and dual-axis trackers are enhancing energy yields and increasing the efficiency of solar farms.

IoT And Smart Solar

The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart technology is transforming solar energy systems. Solar installations can now be remotely monitored, allowing for real-time adjustments based on weather conditions and predictive maintenance. Smart solar solutions increase energy efficiency and reduce operational costs.

Advanced Inverters

Inverters are crucial for converting the direct current (DC) electricity generated by solar panels into usable alternating current (AC) electricity. Advanced inverters are being developed to improve efficiency, power quality, and grid integration. These innovations contribute to the stability and reliability of solar power systems.

Solar-Integrated EV Charging

The synergy between solar power and electric vehicles (EVs) is strengthening. Solar panels integrated with EV charging stations enable vehicle owners to charge their cars with clean energy, reducing carbon emissions and lowering the overall environmental impact of transportation.

Floating Solar Farms

Floating solar farms, where solar panels are installed on bodies of water such as lakes and reservoirs, are gaining momentum. These installations conserve land space and benefit from the cooling effect of water, which can enhance solar panel efficiency. This trend is particularly significant for regions with limited available land.

Solar Power For Hydrogen Production

Solar energy is increasingly used for electrolysis, a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The generated hydrogen can be stored and utilised for a wide range of applications, including fuel cells, making it a versatile and clean energy carrier.

In Conclusion

The future of sustainable solar energy technology is bright, with emerging trends offering innovative solutions to meet the world’s growing energy needs while reducing our carbon footprint. 

High-efficiency solar panels, flexible designs, energy storage solutions, smart technology, and numerous other advancements are paving the way for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. 

As these trends continue to evolve, they hold the promise of transforming the energy landscape and contributing to a greener and more sustainable world.

The post Emerging Trends In Sustainable Solar Energy Technology appeared first on Inc42 Media.

EV battery startup Log9 Materials on Thursday (October 26) announced an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback plan worth INR 1.5 Cr to reward its employees. 

In a statement, Log9 said 17 employees are in line to benefit from this year’s ESOP payouts, many of whom have been instrumental in the battery startup’s growth. Some of the beneficiaries are Log9’s longest-serving employees from both core and non-core functions, the startup said. 

It must be noted that Log9 also bought back ESOPs worth nearly INR 1 Cr in 2022.

The startup said that it intends to continue the practice of ESOP liquidation in the coming years as a way of rewarding the employees and have them invested in its success. 

Founded in 2015 by Dr. Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela, and Pankaj Sharma, Bengaluru-based Log9 manufactures batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. 

In the EV battery industry, Log9 competes with the likes of Hero Electric-backed Exponent Energy, Ather Energy, among others.

Earlier this year, Log9 Materials raised $40 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. and Petronas Ventures. The company also unveiled the country’s maiden commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line in Bengaluru with an initial capacity of 50 MWh in April.

Overall, Log9 has raised a total funding of $65 Mn till date and is backed by the likes of Sequoia Capital, Amara Raja Group, and RTBI, among others.

The development comes at a time when more and more Indian startups are taking the ESOP payout to compensate employees and retain the existing workforce. As per an Inc42 analysis, driven by the funding boom of 2021, Indian startup employees made $196.5 Mn through ESOP buyback programmes in 2022.

Recently, fintech SaaS startup Perfios conducted an ESOP buyback of shares worth INR 154 Cr. Betterhalf, CaratLane, Flipkart, Zypp Electric, and Swiggy are among the other Indian startups that have conducted ESOP buybacks. 

The post EV Battery Startup Log9 To Buy Back ESOPs Worth INR 1.5 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chennai-based drone startup Garuda Aerospace has raised INR 25 Cr (about $3 Mn) in a bridge funding round led by Venture Catalysts and WeFounderCircle.

The funding round also saw participation from other investors, such as Hems Angels, San Angels, Peaceful Progress Funds, and various angel investors. 

In a statement, the startup said it would use the fresh funds for working capital requirements, ensuring seamless execution of the drone order of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and fulfilling the pre-booked orders from dealers across the country.

Garuda said the demand for its drones has surged in recent times. It has received an order for 400 drones from IFFCO and a pre-booking of 10,000 drones from 700 dealers across the country. 

Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda manufactures and sells drones, and offers drone-as-a-service (DaaS) solutions for sectors like agriculture, defence, mining, mapping, and warehouse management.

Commenting on the fundraise, CEO Jayaprakash said, “This fresh capital infusion will play a crucial role in accelerating our growth and enhancing our capabilities to meet the escalating market demand.”

Earlier this year, Garuda raised $17 Mn in its Series A funding round, months after it raised $5 Mn. The startup is backed by the likes of SphitiCap, former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, among others. 

Talking to Inc42, Jayaprakash earlier said that the drone startup is eyeing a revenue of INR 1,000 Cr in FY24 and aims to go public in the next two years.

The fundraise comes at a time when the Indian drone industry is growing leaps and bounds. While a large number of startups, established over the last few years, have played a critical role in this growth, the industry has been further helped by the Indian government’s efforts to boost the sector. The Centre, which is aiming to make India the drone hub of the world by 2030, has brought in a number of reforms for further growth of drone manufacturing and use of drones in the country.

As a result, two drone startups, DroneAcharya and ideaForge, have gone public in the past one year.

According to a recent study by BlueWeave Consulting, the Indian agriculture drones market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 25% from 2022 to 2028.

The post Garuda Aerospace Raises INR 25 Cr From Venture Catalysts, WeFounderCircle, Others appeared first on Inc42 Media.

We all agree that there is a dire need to find new ways to live a more sustainable life without compromising on the country’s growth and development. Indian cleantech startups are at the forefront of this innovation, developing new ideas to power existing clean energy technology and doing their bit to save the environment in their ways.

Inc42 has compiled a list of 49 cleantech startups that have come up with out-of-the-box solutions to contribute to India’s clean energy goals. From startups dealing with rooftop solar energy or those focusing on biomethanation technology to solve organic waste management to those providing solutions to clean and purify air and water, the list has it all. Take a look!

The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. The startups have been listed in alphabetical order.

List Of Cleantech Startups In India

75F

• Founded In: 2012
• Founders: Deepinder Singh, Pankaj Chawla
• Funding Raised To Date: $25 Mn
• Investors: Siemens AG, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Initiative, Building Ventures, Revolution, Clean Energy Trust, WIND Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

75F offers smart building solutions such as wireless sensors, equipment controllers and cloud-based software, delivering predictive, and proactive building automation. 

75F’s products mainly predict, monitor and control hot and cold spots of a building and thus, avert damages to the edifice. In the beginning, the startup focused on the commercial real estate market but in 2015, it also started providing HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) solutions. 

It works along with facility management companies, systems integrators and energy service companies to add more properties within its umbrella. Besides, it also outsources manufacturing units in the US, India and China. 

In July 2021, it reportedly secured $5 Mn in a Series A funding round from Siemens AG. With this, the startup raised a total of $28 Mn in the Series A financing round.

Its cap table includes Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Climate Initiative, Clean Energy Trust and WIND Ventures, among others. 

Ace Green Recycling

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Nishchay Chadha, Vipin Tyagi
• Funding Raised To Date: $10 Mn
• Investors: Circulate Capital, Climate Angels, Newchip 
• Headquarters: Singapore

Ace Green Recycling is a battery recycling startup, which claims to have developed clean and efficient lead-acid battery recycling technology.

Its battery operates at room temperature, contains zero air emissions, and wastes and reduces heavy metal emissions, resulting in significantly lower environmental damage, the startup said. 

Further, the cleantech startup has said it is working on the commercialisation of lithium-ion battery recycling in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Battery recycling technology startup secured more than $7 Mn in a funding round led by Circulate Capital and Climate Angels in February 2022. 

Adding this round, the startup’s total fund raised stands at $10 Mn so far, according to the startup.

The startup is planning to develop its lithium reusable technology and expand the 30-member team to 50 in the coming months. The startup is also focusing on developing fossil fuel-free lithium battery recycling technology.

AirOk

• Founded In: 2015 
• Founders: Deekshith Vara Prasad, Pavan Reddy Yasa, Vanam Sravan Krishna
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Ncubate Capital Partners
• Headquarters: New Delhi

AirOk has developed a patented air filter called EGAPA that is capable of removing 99.7% of air pollutants from the environment. The filter is designed to target cancer cells and break down air pollutants such as viruses, VOCs, bacteria, and mould, as claimed by the company.

In addition to air filters, AirOk offers a range of products, including air purifiers, air purifier filters, face masks, purifying bags, data centre solutions, and pollution seizure solutions.

According to its financial report for FY21, the company generated operating revenue of INR 1.94 Lakh but also reported a loss of INR 2.25 Lakh.

AirOk has secured investment from Ncubate Capital Partners, a VC fund based in Gurugram.

altM

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Apoorv Garg, Yugal Raj Jain
• Funding Raised Till Date: $3.5 Mn
• Investors: Omnivore, Theia Ventures, Thai Wah Ventures, Sanjiv Rangrass, Neha Mudaliar, Maninder Gulati (OYO), Mirik Gogri (Spectrum Impact), Paula Mariwala (Aureolis Ventures)
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded in 2022 by ex-Tesla employees Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, altM is on a mission to develop sustainable materials from agricultural residue and help companies reduce their carbon footprints and increase circularity in their supply chains.

altM uses lignocellulosic agricultural residues to produce advanced materials that offer sustainable alternatives to conventional products. Lignocellulosic residue refers to dry plant waste that is left during or after the processing of crops. It includes items such as barley straw, corn stover, sorghum stalks, coconut husks, sugarcane bagasse and banana leaves.

Last month, altM secured $3.5 Mn in a seed funding round led by Omnivore. It was also featured in the 40th edition of Inc42’s ‘30 Startups To Watch’ list.

Bambrew

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Vaibhav Anant
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.67 Mn
• Investors: Blue Ashva Capital, Supack Industries, Mumbai Angels
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded in 2018 by Vaibhav Anant, Bambrew offers sustainable alternatives for food packaging, pouches and foldable cartons, ecommerce mailer bags, and PVC. The startup uses bamboo to make its products and claims that all its products are plastic-free and made in-house.

The Bengaluru-based green packaging startup picked up $2.35 Mn in a Pre-Series A round in January 2022, which was led by Blue Ashva Capital and Supack Industries. The funding round also attracted investments from Mumbai Angels and other angel investors.

Since its funding round, Bambrew has expanded its product range to include offerings such as paper straws, cups and glasses, and wooden spoons and forks.

Buyofuel

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Kishan Karunakaran, Venkateswaran Selvan, Sumnath Kumar, Prasad Nair
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.6 Mn
• Investors: IPV, VCATS, Gruhas Proptech, LV, Lead Angels Fund
• Headquarters: Coimbatore

Coimbatore-based BuyOFuel aggregates, biofuel suppliers, consumers and waste generators (waste biomass is converted to biofuels).

It claims that 90% of its users are active and repeat customers, and the business has clocked a 2x increase in monthly revenue since May 2022. The cleantech platform saw transactions involving 30K million tonnes (MT) of waste and biofuels since May, substituting 10K MT of fossil fuels.

It has raised $1.6 Mn (INR 13.22 Cr) to date, from investors including IPV, VCATS, Gruhas Proptech, LV and Lead Angels Fund.

Chakr Innovation

• Founded In: 2016 
• Founders: Kushagra Srivastava, Arpit Dhupar, Bharti Singhla
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.6 Mn
• Investors: Neev Fund II, Indian Angel Network, ONGC, Parampara Capital, Globevestor
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Chakr Innovation offers an emission control device that checks pollution at the source and captures harmful particulate matter emissions. 

The cleantech startup claims its products are coupled with exhaust and absorb over 80% of the particulate matter emitted by diesel engines. 

Chakr Innovation’s device Chakr Shield claims to collect 90% of particulate matter emissions from the exhaust of diesel generators without causing any adverse impact on the diesel engine. The collected emissions are used to create the ink. 

According to the startup, the Chakr Shield can significantly reduce particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions after retrofitting the tailpipe of the DG set.

Last year, Delhi’s upscale mall Select CityWalk installed Chakr Shield to reduce pollution from the DG sets by up to 80%. The shield would help reduce annually an estimated 378 kg of PM or black soot emissions which is equivalent to more than 174 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions or the carbon sequestered by 228 acres of forest in one year alone, said Chakr’s cofounder Bharti Singhla. 

Chakr Innovation raised an undisclosed amount in the Series B round from Neev Fund II in November 2021. 

The startup has raised multiple rounds of funding, including a Series A round of INR 19 Cr led by IAN Fund and ONGC. It had also raised seed capital from Parampara Capital and Globevestor. 

Chakr Innovation will be working on other technology solutions including Metal-Air battery technology. The startup plans to scale its production and expand its operations across more than 12 cities in future.

Clairco

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Aayush Jha
• Funding Raised To Date: $572.6K
• Investors: AngelList, Max Group, Sanjiv Bajaj, Anicut Angel Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Clairco is an Internet of Things (IoT) startup which enables air quality monitoring and purification. It uses low-drag air filters which can be retrofitted to any type of air conditioning and turn them into air purifiers. 

According to Clairco, it has developed this patent-pending air purification system in-house. It analyses air quality data of a particular premise on a real-time basis and installs ultra-low resistance air filters in existing air conditioning units. This is then converted into a smart air purification system. 

It helps businesses ensure clean air affordably and measurably by adding air purification to existing AC systems. It offers filter technology for up to MERV-13 filtration with a low-pressure drop, monitors PM2.5, PM10, CO2, VOC, and other air quality parameters, and maintains optimal health of air filters and purifiers in any season.

For its monetisation plan, Clairco charges its customers a monthly subscription fee for businesses of all sizes and scales. 

Clairco raised INR 4.2 Cr in angel funding in March last year. The round was led by Sanjiv Bajaj (Bajaj Capital) at Anicut Angel Fund. Investors including Max Group and Angel List also participated in the round. 

The cleantech startup is looking to expand its footprint to key cities across the country. It is also looking for product development and growth.

CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions

• Founded In: 2011
• Founders: Kuldeep Jain, Sushant Arora
• Funding Raised To Date: $188.2 Mn
• Investors:  IFU, Warburg Pincus, UKCI, International Finance Corporation 
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Rooftop solar startup CleanMax is a sustainability partner to corporations and develops solar and wind projects under the Build Own Operate model by providing renewable electricity under long-term agreements, creating significant savings for end-users.

The startup currently serves more than 150 customers, including Facebook, Adobe, Cargill Foods, Volvo, Tata Group, Mahindra Group, Grasim, MG Motors and others.

The Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) invested $34 Mn in the renewable energy startup in December 2021. 

The investment in CleanMax is IFU’s second within renewables in India, following the signing of the India-Danish Green Strategic Partnership in 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

CleanMax signed a deal with social media giant Facebook last year to co-run a portfolio of wind and solar projects across India that will supply clean energy to the electrical grid. 

In India, the startup has new investments lined up in solar, wind and wind-solar hybrid projects in states, including Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, to serve the needs of corporate customers.

CleanMax is planning to accelerate its growth in the commercial and industrial renewable energy space in India, as well as in the Middle East and South East Asia. 

Devic Earth

• Founded In: 2018 
• Founders: Shaguna Sinha, Srikanth Sola, Shivani Sinha Sola
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.36 Mn
• Investors: Blue Ashva Sampada Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Cleantech startup Devic Earth creates scalable solutions with ‘Pure Skies’, its air pollution control equipment for industries and large areas. Pure Skies improves air quality. 

The Pure Skies tech system reduces specific pollutants like particulate matter to less than 10 microns (both PM10 and PM2.5). The air quality index typically improves in heavily polluted areas in less than three months.

Pure Skies comes with an intelligent wifi-based technology to handle airborne gaseous and particle pollutants across industries, homes, and cities. A single push of a button can help remove 40-50% of nano-sized particles at <20µm.

Pure Skies has been installed with companies operating in sectors including steel, cement, hotels, mining, and manufacturing. It claims the product also addresses challenges arising out of polluting events such as crop burning, forest fires, and construction.

The green technology startup raised its first institutional funding of INR 10 Cr last year from the Blue Ashva Sampada Fund.

Devic Earth is planning to expedite more growth, and product roadmaps, and expand its operational presence in the country as well as global markets.

EdgeGrid

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Sunil Talla, Prasad Yerneni, Mushtaq Ahmed, Neeraj Sansanwal, Vamsi TP
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn  
• Investors: Lightrock India, Theia Ventures
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

EdgeGrid is a B2B cleantech platform that transits energy to last-mile customers such as households, small businesses, commercial building owners and EV charging stations.

The startup mainly uses the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and industry innovation to resolve energy-related problems in various industries. 

It claims that it enables customers to consume energy efficiently and also works with energy distribution companies to save costs and expand renewable energy in the ecosystem.

In March this year, it secured $6 Mn in a fundraising round led by Lightrock India. Theia Ventures and some angel investors also participated in the round. 

In July, it reportedly partnered with Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Co Ltd to help transmission and distribution companies in the state save power purchasing costs.

Freyr Energy

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Saurabh Marda, Radhika Choudary
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.6 Mn 
• Investors: Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia, and C4D Partners
• Headquarters: Hyderabad 

Freyr Energy is a rooftop solar expert for residential and commercial solar solutions. It also caters to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sectors, catering to customers across 22 states in India.

Freyr Energy is working to bring much-needed consolidation in the green energy sector.

The cleantech startup has come with its app, SunPro+, through which it has made the process of owning a solar system simple and seamless. The entire process of owning the system including financing, execution, and after-sales service, has become easier with the app.

Freyr Energy raised INR 18 Cr as an equity investment in April 2021 from Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia, and C4D Partners.

The cleantech startup is working towards mass-market adoption of solar energy, and looking to accelerate growth and enhance its customer experience.

Its focus would be to accelerate growth and enhance the customer experience in future.

Gegadyne Energy 

• Founded In: 2015 
• Founders: Jubin Varghese, Ameya Gadiwan
• Funding Raised To Date: $5 Mn
• Investors: V-Guard, Mumbai Angels 
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

Gegadyne Energy develops eco-friendly alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Its battery consists of nano-material composites and advanced battery architectures to enable quick charging with high energy density similar to lithium-ion batteries.

Gegadyne’s batteries charge from 0 to 100% in around 15 minutes; unlike lithium-ion batteries that take hours to recharge. The price range of the battery pack will be at par with lithium-ion batteries and will drop further as the economy of scale kicks in, as per the startup.

The batteries are aimed to be a direct replacement for existing use cases and will be available in cylindrical, pouch and prismatic forms, according to the startup.

Electric vehicles are the main focus of the startup. However, these batteries can be used in any other consumer devices, telecom towers, and stationary energy storage systems.

Gegadyne Energy raised $4.5 Mn from V-Guard Industries in a Series A round of investment in January 2021.  

The founders said that the startup is planning to expand its operations and set up a battery research lab in India. It also plans to build a pilot plant to service its contract with selected OEMs.

GPS Renewables

• Founded In: 2012 
• Founders: Mainak Chakraborty, Sreekrishna Sankar
• Funding Raised To Date: $23 Mn 
• Investors: Neev Fund II, Hivos-Triodos Fund, Caspian
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

GPS Renewables focuses on biomethanation technology to solve the organic waste management challenge, accelerate the substitution of fossil fuel with bioenergy and mitigate climate change.

The startup has a captive biogas product called the ‘BioUrja’, and GPS renewables claim to have more than 100 BioUrja installations across South Asia.

GPS Renewables commissioned a BioCNG plant based on Source Separated Organics (SSO) in Indore. The plant, which is Asia’s largest in its class, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2022 and is set up over 15 acres of land.

The biogas plant is expected to produce 17 tonnes of bio-CNG every day from 550 tonnes of organic household waste. GPS Renewables aims to power 400 city buses in Indore with the BioCNG generated from the plant.

The cleantech startup raised $3 Mn in a Series A funding led by Hivos-Triodos Fund and Caspian in 2020. GPS Renewables closed undisclosed funding in a Series B round in March 2022 from Neev Fund II, managed by SBICap Ventures. 

The cleantech startup is working to complete the world’s largest BioCNG plant in Hyderabad, in partnership with development partners from Japan. It aims to accelerate the substitution of fossil fuels with bio-energy.

The startup aims to expand its research and development centres and support its next phase of growth and expansion.

Greenjoules 

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: V Radhika, VS Shridhar, S Viraraghavan, R Sethunath
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.5 Mn
• Investors:  Blue Ashva Capital 
• Headquarters: Pune

Greenjoules specialises in making renewable biofuels, which are curated entirely from agri-residue and renewable waste from agro-processing industries. 

The biofuel can be used for industrial applications (to power boilers, and gensets) and commercial applications (diesel vehicles). Greenjoules claims to utilise non-food and non-feed wastes to manufacture biofuels.

The manufactured biofuel meets the same IS1460 standards that petroleum and diesel also follow.

According to Greenjoules, its biofuel can be used without any modification with the current diesel engines, gensets or boilers in use. This makes its product a direct replacement for petroleum or diesel.

The cleantech startup is serving various large enterprise customers from its biorefinery in Chakan, Pune. It now plans to significantly scale up production by setting up a large facility near Pune to cater to the increasing demand for green diesel.

Greenjoules raised $4.5 Mn in its Series A funding round last year in June from Blue Ashva Capital. The funds raised are a combination of equity and debt.

Greenjoules will focus on growing its current product range but also on developing a portfolio of high-energy density liquid and gaseous biofuels. It will also focus on new research and development initiatives in future. 

Greenko Group

• Founded In: 2004
• Founders: Anil Chalamalasetty, Mahesh Kolli
• Funding Raised To Date: $6.7 Bn
• Investors: GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, DBS Bank, Barclays  
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Greenko is a cleantech startup, that enables sustainable and affordable energy, with a net installed capacity of 7.5 GW across 15 states in India. It provides utility-scale, clean and affordable energy to customers. 

Greenko has been opting for the green bond route in the past to raise funds for developing sustainable energy projects. It is developing state-of-the-art three multi-gigawatts scale integrated renewable energy storage projects with national grid connectivity in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. 

Greenko has raised funding from GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, DBS Bank, and Barclays.   

These projects will harness the power of solar, and wind resources with digitally connected storage infrastructure to provide round-the-clock power to the grid.

Last month, global steel and mining firm ArcelorMittal partnered with Greenko to develop a round-the-clock renewable energy project with 975 MW of nominal capacity. The project will be owned and funded by ArcelorMittal. 

Greenko will design, construct and operate the renewable energy facilities in Andhra Pradesh. The project commissioning is expected by mid-2024.

h2e Power Systems

• Founded In: 2011
• Founders: Siddharth R Mayur, Amar Chakradeo, Bhavana S Mayur
• Funding Raised To Date: $200K
• Investors: Poonawalla Group
• Headquarters: Pune

h2e offers clean and green energy solutions including green hydrogen, alternate e-fuels, H2E Power Box, H2E Power RES and industrial solutions to masses. 

The startup follows the CRS (conserve, replace, sustainable and scalable) program, which is central to the system. In 2020, it acquired Swiss company Hexis AG for an undisclosed amount.

In the financial year 2021-22, it reported operating revenue of INR 5.50 Cr in FY22, down 54% from INR 11.93 Cr in the previous fiscal year (2020-21). Meanwhile, its losses stood at INR 3.9 Lakh in FY22 as compared to INR 2.3 Lakh in FY21.

Hygenco

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Amit Bansal, Anshul Gupta, Aashish Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $25.4 Mn
• Investors: Neev II fund
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Hygenco develops green hydrogen and green ammonia production assets for commercial purposes. 

The startup’s LinkedIn profile says Hygenco’s team holds a combined experience of more than 30 years in construction, renewables, operations & maintenance, investment banking and private equity.

In October, the startup received $25.4 Mn in funding from the private equity fund Neev II fund. During that time, it said that it plans to invest more than $300 Mn in developing green hydrogen projects across the country in the coming three years.

Before that, it inked an offtake agreement with Indian steel company Jindal Stainless to build a multi-megawatt green hydrogen facility. With this plant, the startup would help Jindal reduce carbon emissions by nearly 2,700 metric tonnes annually.

Inficold

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Himanshu Pokharna, Nitin Goel
• Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn
• Investors: RVCF, Shell Foundation 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR 

Cleantech startup Inficold provides cold storage solutions to its customers. The current product portfolio consists of modular cold storage and instant and bulk milk coolers. It provides round-the-clock cooling with just seven hours of grid/solar power. 

Inficold claims to have developed a retrofittable thermal energy storage technology for storing cooling in a low-cost medium such as water to ice.

The technology is designed to use solar electric energy to make ice, and later use it for cooling purposes. Inficold’s products enable the application of thermal storage for virtually any cooling needs — be it milk, cold storage, air conditioning, or vaccine refrigeration — without making any major modifications to existing cooling hardware. 

The startup raised INR 6.5 Cr in a funding round last year from RVCF and other undisclosed HNIs as a part of its Pre-Series A funding round. 

The startup has installations in more than 17 states of India with a strong presence in northeastern states, including Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Inficold claims that it is aggressively ramping up its production capacity by more than 10 times.

The increased capacity will allow it to cater to the demand with a minimised lead time for the customer, it said. 

The startup is planning to expand its overall manufacturing, sales, and servicing capabilities. It plans to penetrate dairy, horticulture, poultry, meat, cold logistics and air conditioning segments across India. 

ION Energy

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Akhil Aryan, Alexandre Collet
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.6 Mn
• Investors: YourNest Venture Capital, Riso Capital, Venture Catalysts, Climate Pledge Fund, Climate Capital
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

ION Energy builds advanced electronics and software platforms for new energy companies. The company’s flagship product so far has been its Battery Management System (BMS), which enables OEMs/Battery Pack Makers to deploy smart battery systems.

In 2019, the cleantech startup launched Altergo (previously called Edison Analytics), a digital twin platform for battery intelligence. Altergo now manages 700+ MWh of battery storage in the cloud.

ION currently supplies to 75+ OEMs across 15 countries including India, France, Spain and the US. Since its inception, ION Energy claims to have deployed more than 60,000 smart BMS in electric vehicles and stationary storage systems. 

The startup raised $3.6 Mn in Pre-Series A funding in July 2021 from the Climate Pledge Fund, joined by Silicon Valley-based Climate Capital, early-stage investor YourNest Venture Capital, Riso Capital, Venture Catalysts, and other angel investors. 

This startup is looking to expand its product development and software business in other countries. 

Log9 Materials 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela, Pankaj Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: $65 Mn
• Investors: Metaform Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Surge Ahead, Petronas Ventures, Incred Financial, Unity Small Finance Bank, Oxyzo Financial Services, Western Capital Advisors, Amara Raja Batteries
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Battery technology startup Log9 Materials is a graphene research and development startup that accelerates the commercialization of graphene nanotechnology. Their first developed product of this technology is ‘smoke-safe’ which is a cigarette that reduces the risk of getting cancer by 90%.

Log9 Materials has developed technology for both stationary and automotive applications such as electric vehicles (EVs). Aluminium fuel cells are aluminium-air batteries (AI-air batteries) that produce electricity from oxygen and aluminium reactions. The technology used in the battery is similar to the hydrogen fuel cell but more economical, safer and scalable.

In January, it secured $40 Mn funding in its Series B round led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. Before this, it raised $3.5 Mn funding in a Series A round led by Exfinity Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator programme Surge.

In April last year, it inaugurated its indigenously developed cell manufacturing facility at Jakkuru in Bengaluru. 

It has been working on unique cell chemistry for its RapidX battery packs powered by InstaCharge technology, which offers nine times faster charging, better performance, and battery life as compared to conventional lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries.

It aims to achieve at least 50MWh of peak cell production capacity in the next year, and scale it to over 5GWh in the next three to five years, Log9 Materials said in a statement.

Lohum 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rajat Verma, Justin Lemmon and Gazanfar Safvi 
• Funding Raised To Date: $7 Mn
• Investors: Baring Private Equity Partners, Talbros 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Lohum is a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery pack manufacturer and battery materials (cobalt, lithium, nickel, etc) recycler. 

The cleantech startup addresses battery business across three cycles, first life with new batteries for two and three-wheeler original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and stationary applications including for UPS and telecom, second life, which enhances the life of existing batteries, and lastly, end-of-life management offering recycling solutions. 

Given the government’s focus on setting up giga factories in India, the startup sees a huge unfolding opportunity to provide the entire lifecycle management solutions.

The startup claims to generate 80% of its revenue from sales of EV batteries to solar plants, and electric two and three-wheeler companies, while 10% comes from the energy storage system (ESS) and 10% from its recycling business.   

The recycling startup Lohum raised $7 Mn in a fresh round of funding from institutional investors led by Baring Private Equity Partners in January 2021.

Lohum has plans to expand its manufacturing capacity of lithium-ion batteries from 300 MWh to 1000 MWh (1 GWh) and its recycling capacity 10 times, from 1,000 tonnes per annum to 10,000 tonnes per annum.

Loom Solar

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Amod Anand, Amol Anand 
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Social Investment Managers and Advisors
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR 

Loom is a B2C solar startup that offers solar panels, lithium batteries, solar inverters, solar wires, panel stands and charge controllers. It operates in both online and offline channels. 

Apart from offering solar solutions, the startup also provides a credit facility to consumers to procure products at a 0% interest rate. In January this year, it secured $2 Mn in funding from Social Investment Managers and Advisors (SIMA) under the Energy Access Relief fund.

It operates one manufacturing unit and has a presence in 500 Indian districts. As per its website, the startup manages 100 employees. 

In FY2021, its revenue stood at INR 35 Cr and of this, 60% was accounted for solar panels. It aims to expand its energy storage solutions and grow its market share from 1% to 5% by 2025. 

It also claimed to have connected with 10,000 resellers and looks to partner with strategic investors in the future.

Metastable Materials

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Shubham Vishvakarma, Saurav Goyal Manikumar Uppala
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Sequoia Surge, Speciale Invest, Theia Ventures, Akshay Singhal, Archana Priyadershini
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded in October 2021, Metastable Materials claims to have developed the world’s first, chemical-free integrated carbothermal reduction process for recycling and extracting valuable materials, such as copper, aluminium, cobalt, nickel and lithium from Li-ion batteries.

The startup opened a 21,000 sq ft urban mining facility located on the outskirts of Bengaluru in October 2022. The facility can process 1,500 tonnes of material annually, which accounts for up to 6% of India’s recycling demand for Li-ion batteries.

It has raised an undisclosed amount of funding recently from Sequoia’s Surge, as part of its Surge 08 cohort. 

MYSUN

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Gagan Vermani, Gyan Prakash Tiwari, Ashit Maru
• Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn
• Investors: Tata Cleantech Capital, General Catalyst 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

MYSUN is a technology-backed B2B2C rooftop solar platform providing hyperlocal end-to-end solar solutions and long-term maintenance services. It provides solar energy to industries, small and medium enterprises/medium small and micro enterprises, and homes.

The cleantech startup is creating a network of clients/buildings (residential, industrial and commercial customers) across 100 cities (Tier 1/2/3). Last year, MYSUN bagged 140-megawatt  open-access solar power projects from Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corp Ltd. 

Under its new asset vehicle MYSUN+, it is expanding its presence across states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi NCR. The cleantech startup is already in early-stage development of more than 220 MW of projects under the captive/ open access mechanisms.

In July 2021, the firm raised INR 15 Cr from Tata Cleantech in debt funding to expand its pipeline of projects.

MYSUN is looking to improve its technology infrastructure, scale up its service offerings, and expand to newer geographies, both in India and globally, including parts of the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa.

Nepra

• Founded In: 2011
• Founders: Sandeep Patel, Dhrumin Patel, Ravi Patel
• Funding Raised To Date: $24.5 Mn 
• Investors: Aavishkaar Capital, Circulate Capital, Asha Impact 
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad 

Nepra Resource Management Private Limited offers an integrated, efficient and scalable waste management solution that connects all stakeholders along the value chain, from municipalities to informal waste pickers, as well as recyclers and brand owners.

Nepra processes over 500 tonnes of dry waste every day across Ahmedabad, Indore and Pune with the help of 1,700 collectors. The cleantech startup claims to have positively impacted the lives of 5K people at the very bottom of the waste management industry over the last eight years.

The dry waste management startup raised $18 Mn in Series C funding from Aavishkaar Capital and Circulate Capital in 2020.

The cleantech startup claims to bring transparency and scalability to the highly unorganised waste management sector in the country. 

The startup plans to expand its capacity generation and manage dry waste across more cities in India. It plans to expand to 25 cities in India by 2025. 

NewTrace

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Prasanta Sarkar, Rochan Sinha
• Funding Raised To Date: $6.6 Mn
• Investors: Speciale Invest, Micelio Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Newtrace develops batteries and electrolysers for producing green hydrogen for industries. Before founding the startup, both founders had completed PhD degrees in engineering disciplines. 

In July, the startup secured $1 Mn in a pre-seed funding round led by Speciale Invest and Micelio Fund. Angel investors also have participated in the funding round. In May, the startup picked up another $5.6 Mn in seed funding. 

During that time, it wanted to build electrolyzers offering 1 megawatt (MW) by 2025 and further increase the capacity of electrolyzers to 10MW by 2027. It further looks to help varied industries such as petrochemical, ammonia, mobility, energy and steel, among others reduce their carbon footprint. 

As per the startup’s website, it is currently pilot-testing its products. Back in 2021, it tested its prototype at IIT Madras and before that, it got shortlisted for a pre-incubation programme led by NSRCEL and Maruti Suzuki. 

Offgrid Energy

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Rishi Srivastava, Tejas Kusurkar, Brindan Tulachan, Ankur Agarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.3 Mn
• Investors: Shell Ventures, Ankur Capital, APVC 
• Headquarters: Kanpur 

Energy tech startup Offgrid has developed a rechargeable zinc-carbon battery that outperforms available battery technologies in terms of power density, life and cost. 

Offgrid has more than 15 patents, designs and trademarks to its name, with a primary focus on renewable energy storage, microgrids, electric vehicle charging and grid applications in utilities.

The startup’s flagship product, ZincGel Battery technology has energy efficiency at par with a lithium-ion battery. It has twice the life cycle and negligible operational cost — thereby saving up to 30% cost for energy storage projects. Alternatively, existing lead-acid manufacturers can make ZincGel batteries easily with available equipment.

In February 2022, Offgrid raised undisclosed funds from energy solutions giant Shell, venture capitalists Ankur Capital and APVC to take its flagship product rechargeable zinc-based battery ZincGel to the market.

The startup has previously raised a small angel round from overseas investors and was seed-funded by Shell India.

The cleantech startup plans to cater to multiple industries such as renewables, microgrids, electric vehicles and utilities through its different variants of zinc-carbon batteries.

Oorjan Cleantech

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Roli Gupta, Das Gautam 
• Funding Raised To Date: $450K
• Investors: Aditya Sharma, Globevestor, Nisha Pillai, Mayur Bhat, Sayandev Chakravartti
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Solar energy startup Oorjan offers solar on-grid systems, ranging from 1kWp to 10kWp, to residential, commercial and industrial use cases. Besides this, it also operates three verticals–SolarSME, Greenstitute and Greenjobs. 

Under its SolarSME, the startup helps small and medium-sized enterprises to kick start as well as promote their solar businesses. It additionally provides credit facilities to individual consumers and PPA financing to commercial customers.

Under Greenstitute, it offers certified courses on solar energy and systems to students in association with academic institutions. On the other hand, Greenjobs acts as an online job portal connecting job seekers with companies. 

In 2017, it raised $450K in seed funding led by venture capital firm Globevestor. Chakravartti, Aditya Sharma, Nisha Pillai and Mayur Bhat also participated in the funding round.

The startup claims to have served more than 1,500 customers across 15+ states of India. 

Orb Energy 

• Founded In: 2006
• Founders: Damian Miller, NP Ramesh  
• Funding Raised To Date: $13.6 Mn   
• Investors: FMO, Bamboo Capital Partners, Rianta Capital, Acumen Capital Market Funds I, Pamiga SA
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Orb Energy offers solar energy solutions (solar electricity and solar water heating) to residential, commercial and industrial customers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

To enable SMEs to afford solar energy, the cleantech startup has set up an in-house finance facility to provide extended payment terms to customers. Orb also provides credit to SMEs to invest in solar panel systems.

Since its inception in 2006, Orb has sold more than 160,000 solar systems, with cumulative installations of more than 110MW of rooftop solar systems.

Further, Orb Energy manufactures its solar panels and solar water heating systems in-house to control quality and cost. 

Orb Energy raised a $15 Mn debt fund in 2019 to augment its capital base. It raised an undisclosed amount from Shell’s New Energies business by divesting an almost 20% stake in the firm in a Series C round of funding in 2019. 

Shell’s New Energies business has acquired a 20% stake in solar firm Orb Energy in a funding round in 2019. It has so far received more than $13 Mn in equity and around $10 Mn debt in Series A and Series B rounds. 

Orb is based in Bengaluru, where it runs two factories, one producing solar photovoltaic panels and the other producing solar water heating systems. Orb is looking to help more Indian SMEs to benefit from lower-cost solar power in future.

OxyGarden

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Anshu Gupta, Abhishek Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $70K 
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Gurugram

OxyGarden has developed Forest, an automated vertical green wall designed to purify the air in homes and commercial spaces. The green wall uses a soil and root-based filtration system to naturally purify the air, creating a forest-like environment within living spaces.

In addition to air purification, Forest helps to regulate relative humidity levels with the help of controlled transpiration in plants. The product is designed to require minimal maintenance and does not require any human intervention once installed, according to the company.

To date, OxyGarden has raised $1.7 Mn in funding from investors to support the development and growth of its product line.

Pi Green Innovations

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Irfan Pathan and Rizwan Shaikh
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.8 Mn
• Investors: Opus Consulting Solutions, Harshal Morde (Morde Foods) 
• Headquarters: Pune 

Pi Green Innovations creates technology-driven solutions for the reduction of particulate matter emissions at source. The startup has a patented filterless technology that converts smoke to its powder form, soot.

Some of the startup’s solutions include carbon cutter machines, filterless retrofits for diesel generators and heavy vehicles; and RepAi, a filterless ambient air-purification tower that can be installed in public spaces. 

As per the founders, the cleantech startup has developed a retrofit solution for existing conventionally-fuelled heavy vehicles, diesel-fuelled generator sets and industrial boilers to reduce and capture hazardous particulate matter (PM) emissions and pollution caused every day. 

Pi Green’s retrofit device can capture 90% of the particulate matter emitted from the genset in real-time ranging from PM2.5 to PM10. The device works on the principle of electrostatic precipitator. 

The cleantech startup secured over $4.5 Mn in Series A funding in December 2021. The round was led by the Investment Fund of Opus Consulting with a total of $4.3 Mn. 

Its plans include working on after-treatment solutions for crematoriums. A pilot run is already underway at a crematorium in Bengaluru and a heavy vehicles retrofit pilot with the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation for two buses. 

Prescinto

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Puneet Jaggi, Ram Menon, Sanjay Bhasin
• Funding Raised To Date: $5.3 Mn
• Investors: Mumbai Angels Network, Inflection Point Ventures, 9Unicorns Accelerator Fund, Lets Venture
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

SaaS solar energy startup Prescinto uses Artificial Intelligence to identify the root causes of plants’ underperformance in real-time and suggest actions to improve generation in clean energy plants by 5 to 7%. It helps in reducing costs of operation and maintenance.

Prescinto has been deployed across 10,000+ MWs of solar and wind projects across 14 countries with marquee clients like SoftBank Energy, Macquarie and Radiance Renewables managing their solar and wind assets on Prescinto.

Prescinto IOT platform is designed for vendor-independent connectivity and provides insights for solar PV plants. Prescinto’s patent-pending technology buckets losses into downtime, soiling, and systemic loss and immediately converts each loss into actionable job tickets along with projected gains. 

It has customers such as Stride Climate Investments, Essel Infrastructure, and GMR, among others to achieve traction of 3X annual growth reaching over 9 Giga Watts of solar plants across more than 10 countries.

Prescinto raised $3.5 Mn in a Seed funding round in March 2021 led by Venture Catalysts. Inflexion Point Ventures, Mumbai Angels and LetsVenture also participated as part of this round.

The Bengaluru-based cleantech startup is looking to expand in international markets, primarily in the US market, and for Intellectual Property development. Prescinto aims to expand into wind and energy storage as well.

Proklean

• Founded In: 2012
• Founders: Sivaram Pillai, Bala Chandrashekar, Vishwadeep Kuila
• Funding Raised To Date: $5.36 Mn
• Investors: Raintree Family Office
• Headquarters: Chennai

Founded in 2012 by Sivaram Pillai and Bala Chandrashekar, and later joined by Vishwadeep Kuila, Proklean offers non-toxic and biodegradable green chemistry solutions to clients across industries such as textiles, pulp and paper, water management and biosurfactants. 

Proklean also sells household cleaning products across online marketplaces and offline stores in Chennai. 

Proklean last raised $4 Mn as part of its strategic funding round from the Raintree Family Office in June this year. The startup claims to have turned EBITDA profitable in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with a revenue of INR 40 Cr.

ReNew Power

• Founded In: 2011
• Founders: Sumant Sinha
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.2 Bn
• Investors: Goldman Sachs, Franklin Templeton India, JP Morgan, L&T, Sylebra Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

ReNew Power is an independent power producer (IPP) of renewable energy using clean sources such as wind, hydro and solar power. The startup can generate more than 8 gigawatts of power assets across 16 states in India, including commissioned as well as under-development projects. 

Renew Power joined the startup unicorn club in 2017 after raising $300 Mn through a rights issue. Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have subscribed to the issue, with each shareholder infusing $100 Mn, it said.

According to its website, ReNew’s total capacity was 10.2 GW and its commissioned capacity was 7.3 GW, as of February 2022.

ReNew Energy raised $400 Mn in January 2022 at 4.5% by issuing green bonds. These bonds have a tenor of 5.25 years. This is the first high-yield issuance out of the ASEAN and South Asian regions in 2022, it said.

ReNew is setting up a joint venture (JV) with Fluence to boost the energy storage sector and meet the local needs of Indian customers. The startup has entered into a partnership agreement with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to develop, own, execute and operate green hydrogen projects in India. 

To enable India’s decarbonisation push, Indian Oil Corporation, L&T, and ReNew Power signed a JV company on April 3, 2022. It is working to develop the green hydrogen sector in India.

The cleantech startup intends to own 18 GW of renewable energy assets by FY25.

Sea6 Energy 

• Founded In: 2010
• Founders: Nelson Vadassery, Shrikumar Suryanarayan, Sowmya Balendiran, Sri Sailaja Nori 
• Funding Raised To Date: $17.9 Mn
• Investors: Aqua-Spark, Silverstrand Capital, Tata Capital Innovation Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Sea6 Energy develops technologies to convert biomass into biofuel, plant growth stimulants, plant defence products, animal feed ingredients, and other bio-renewable products to replace chemicals and plastics. 

The cleantech startup has also developed proprietary technologies to convert fresh seaweed into environmentally friendly products for a range of industries including agriculture, animal health, food ingredients, bioplastics and renewable chemicals.

Sea6 Energy exports its patented agriculture biostimulant product to countries including the USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The seaweed farming and processing startup raised $9 Mn in Series B funding in July 2021 led by Aqua-Spark, the Netherlands-based investment fund. Singapore-based Silverstrand Capital is the co-investor in the round.

The startup will work on additional SeaCombine systems to increase the supply of seaweed raw material and expand its processing capacity with additional facilities to produce Sea6’s agricultural biostimulant and animal health products. 

SenseHawk

• Founded In: 2018 
• Founders: Rahul Sankhe and Swarup Mavanoorl
• Funding Raised To Date: $7.1 Mn
• Investors: Alpha Wave Global, SAIF Partners, Elevation Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru  

Cloud-based cleantech startup SenseHawk enables owners, managers and developers of solar assets to gain new insights about their plants that enable maximisation of returns. 

The initial focus of the startup is on the rapidly growing solar industry with future expansion to other similar sectors.

Its solutions combine different kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sensors, data processing and planning chains to create decision-making tools that drive productivity in the energy and infrastructure industries. 

The startup claims that it has delivered data analytics for more than 28 GWs of solar assets across 15 countries worldwide, and has nearly 80 clients.

SenseHawk raised $5.1 Mn in a Series A funding round in 2020 led by Alpha Wave Incubation, backed by Abu Dhabi-based ADQ. Existing investor SAIF Partners also participated in the round.

The startup is looking to expand its presence in Abu Dhabi, and also build a team of data scientists, product managers and engineers in the region. 

It is planning to use Abu Dhabi as the global base for international expansion while targeting the Gulf Cooperation Council countries — the Middle East North Africa and other global markets.

Skilancer Solar

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Manish Kumar Das, Neeraj Kumar
• Funding Raised To Date: $652K
• Investors: Boundary Holding, Venture Catalysts, IIML-Incubator, Neeraj Kumar, Dhianu Das, Alfa Ventures
• Headquarters: Noida

Skilancer Solar offers cleaning services for solar panels installed in commercial parks and other establishments. 

The startup was founded by Neeraj Kumar, who has three years of experience in the solar industry, and Manish Kumar Das, who brings ten years of experience in instrumentation engineering to the team.

Skilancer Solar’s client portfolio includes several prominent organisations such as Hindustan Petroleum, Adani, Ambit Energy, and Unilink Group. 

The startup has received over $652K in funding from a range of investors, including Boundary Holding, Venture Catalysts, IIML-Incubator, Neeraj Kumar, Dhianu Das, and Alfa Ventures.

Solar Ladder

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Manan Mehta, Abhishek Pillai, Farhan Ahmed
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.34 Mn
• Investors: Axilor Ventures, Titan Capital, DeVC, Stride Ventures, Varun Alagh
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2021 by Manan Mehta, Abhishek Pillai and Farhan Ahmed, Solar Ladder is an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) service provider in the rooftop solar energy space.

Having partnered with five NBFCs, the Mumbai-based startup offers collateral-free financing to both EPC installers and end users. 

Solar Ladder also offers a free SaaS tool, which integrates modules encompassing sales, marketing, installation, accounts and project management. It gives EPC installers more visibility into a business’s various functions such as ongoing projects, inventory and payments.

The startup last secured INR 11 Cr ($1.34 Mn) in funding in May 2023 to fuel its expansion plans.

SmartJoules

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Arjun P Gupta, Ujjal Majumdar, Sidhartha Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.35 Mn
• Investors: ADB Ventures, Sangam Ventures, Max Limited, cKinetics Accelerator, Dabur family’s Saket Burman 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Energy-efficiency-as-a-service startup Smart Joules offers capital expenditure-free retrofits for commercial and industrial facilities by improving the overall design of energy-intensive systems like cooling, heating, compressed air and steam. 

The cleantech startup claims its DeJoule technology platform utilises various sensors and IoT controllers to track and control equipment and optimise overall facility performance in real time using data. This tech platform allows SmartJoules to guarantee its clients 15% energy savings.

Its JoulePAYS service makes energy savings easy and profitable from day one with zero investment and zero risk for hospital/hotel owners under a single pay-as-you-save agreement.

Smart Joules has provided its full-stack solution for leading Indian hospital chains, including Apollo, Fortis, KIMS, Aster, and CARE, among others. 

In March 2021, Smart Joules raised $4.1 Mn in its Series A funding round from various investors, namely ADB Ventures, Sangam Ventures, and Max Limited, among others. It raised $4.9 Mn in a Series A funding round from various investors in April 2021.

SmartJoules’ plans include strengthening its energy management team, enhancing its digital technology platform, expanding its presence across hospitals and scaling its cooling-as-a-service offering for commercial buildings and industries with heavy air conditioning loads such as pharmaceuticals and data centres.

SolarSquare

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders:  Neeraj Subhash Jain, Nikhil Satejlal Nahar
• Funding Raised To Date: $16.08 Mn  
• Investors: Elevation Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Good Capital, Rainmatter, Vidit Atrey, Sanjeev Barnwal, Maninder Gulati, Ashish Goel, Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, Saurabh Garg 
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Cleantech startup SolarSquare offers rooftop solar panels for residential and commercial purposes. It also provides financing facilities to customers at a 0% interest rate. It currently has a presence in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad as well as states including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra

Initially, the startup only provided commercial rooftop solar solutions but in 2020, it started catering to the needs of residential consumers too. During the same year, it elevated Shreya Mishra, its CEO to the position of cofounder. 

In November last year, it raised $12.08 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Elevation Capital and Lowercarbon Capital. Good Capital, Rainmatter, Meesho’s Vidit Atrey and Sanjeev Barnwal also participated in the round. 

Its cap table includes Lowercarbon Capital, Symphony Asia, OYO’s Maninder Gulati, Urban Ladder’s Ashish Goel and Nobroker founders Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta & Saurabh Garg, among others.

Earlier, it claimed to have served nearly 5,000 residential customers and also aimed to standardise its installation quality. 

SolarTown Energy  

• Founded In: 2012
• Founders: Vikram Dileepan, Dhanush Kuttuva 
• Funding Raised To Date: $200K
• Investors: GREX
• Headquarters: Chennai 

SolarTown Energy makes clean energy for homeowners, businesses, schools, non-profit and government organisations at low cost. 

The cleantech startup provides solutions and products for home-based systems, small and mid-size businesses, and buildings. 

SolarTown provides for the sale, lease and installation of solar rooftop systems from 1 kW to 300 kW for residential, commercial and industrial customers. SolarTown Energy claims to have installed more than 100 solar systems and counts Infosys and Renault-Nissan among its customers. 

The startup is looking for market expansion, investment in technology, international business development and working capital requirements.

Swajal 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Advait Kumar, Vibha Tripathi
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.8 Mn
• Investors:  Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund, Pramod Agarwal (former CFO at Procter & Gamble), ACPL 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Swajal is an artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled water purification solution that looks to enable access to clean drinking water across the socio-economic spectrum. 

The cleantech startup claims to have developed solar-energy-powered remote sensing water purification systems (also known as water ATMs) with user interfaces and payment mechanisms for airports, hotels, offices, schools and railway stations among others, where it essentially replaces the plastic, encouraging people to bring their utensils/bottles to fill water. 

Swajal also helps corporate customers move away from plastic bottles to glass bottles using its in-house water bottle washing, filling and monitoring plant (WaterCube). The startup earns revenue from consumers buying its systems or a per-litre price for the as-per-usage model.

Last year, Swajal raised $1.6 Mn in funding from the social impact fund Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund, alongside Pramod Agarwal (former CFO at Procter & Gamble), ACPL and other angel investors.

The startup is planning to further enhance its research and development capabilities, thereby making drinking water more accessible, sustainable and plastic-free in the country.

The Energy Company

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Prashant Rathee, Rahul Lamba, Pratik Somani
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: LetsVenture, WeFounderCircle, SIA Angel Network, Monokeros Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

The Energy Company has developed a full-stack battery solution for EVs in India that helps B2B vehicle aggregators manage vehicle life cycles by giving them a longer-lasting battery pack via FlexiPack and better visibility on the battery life via its SaaS tool FlexiTwin.

The startup claims that its battery pack is scalable across electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses and helps vehicles run for 50 km on just a 15-minute fast charge and 100 km after a 40-minute charge.

Meanwhile, The Energy company’s SaaS tool, FlexiTwin, takes inputs from the sensors installed on a battery to digitally record the battery performance, degradation and service history, with insights on battery health and ageing.

For now, the startup is in talks with five B2B clients, which have around 25,000 two-wheeler EVs. The startup also has letters of intent (LOIs) for around 2,000 electric two-wheelers.

Uravu Labs

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Pardeep Garg, Swapnil Shrivastav, Venkatesh R, Govinda Balaji
• Funding Raised To Date: $274K
• Investors: Speciale Invest, Peter Yolles (EchoRiver Capital), Soren Schroder, Shigeru Sumimoto (Conselux Corporation), Tomoki Kaneko (Kaneko Cord)
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Watertech startup Uravu Labs builds atmospheric water generators that run on 100% renewable energy. It creates water from the air using only renewable energy sources like solar, waste heat, or biomass to produce renewable water.

Uravu’s working prototype can channel air into a chamber containing desiccants like Silica which absorb the water content in the air. Once the desiccant is fully saturated, heat is applied to it using solar energy to extract the water in liquid form, as claimed by the startup.  

The water-from-air concept is not new, as many startups already operate in the space. But unlike Uravu, most of them use refrigeration as a method to condense air in the atmosphere, which is an expensive process with high energy requirements. 

Uravu’s method uses a desiccant that is relatively less capital-intensive and energy-intensive and also requires much less maintenance. The desiccant used in the machine has a shelf life of around ten years, and the rest of the components are mostly conventional electronic components like fans and pipes, according to the startup. 

The water tech startup raised an undisclosed amount during a pre-seed funding round in December 2021 led by Speciale Invest. 

The startup plans to work with corporations on CSR efforts, and with government agencies like Jal Shakti, and MNRE, among others, to deliver clean drinking water to remote and rural areas in the country. 

Varaha

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, Vishal Kuchanur
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn
• Investors: Orios Venture Partners, Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital, Kunal Shah 
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Climatetech startup Varaha helps agricultural farmers adopt regenerative agricultural practices by producing carbon credits, which help grow revenue and decrease operating expenses. It has a presence in six Indian states. 

Explaining the modus operandi, the startup said it enrols agricultural farmers, quantifies greenhouse gases, verifies carbon credits, and then sells those credits to buyers. 

In December last year, it secured $4 Mn in a seed funding round for expanding business in South Asia. The round was led by Orios Venture Partners along with participation from Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital and CRED founder Kunal Shah.

Earlier, it claimed to have covered an expanse of more than 1.32 Lakh acres under its agroforestry, forest conservation and reforestation activities, among others.

As per its website, it cloistered over 3.5 Lakh tonnes of carbon emissions and saved 1.55 Lakh Mn litres of water so far.

WEGoT

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Abilash Haridass, Vijay Krishna, Mohideen Haja, Sundeep Donthamshetty
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.5 Mn
• Investors: GRUHAS Proptech, Rahul Talwar (DLF Family Office) Harshad Reddy (Apollo Hospitals Family), HDFC Capital Advisory Ltd, Prestige Group
• Headquarters: Chennai 

Internet of Things-based cleantech startup WEGoT Utility Solutions delivers water management solutions to clients from single houses to multi-unit apartments and commercial complexes.

The cleantech clients include Prestige Group, Godrej Properties, Brigade Group, Mahindra World City, and Brookfield among others.

WEGoT’s Smart Water Meters manage water consumption and quality in real time. Its app enables effective monitoring, control and modification of water consumption based on user insights. 

Since its inception, WEGoT has successfully implemented over 100,000 smart devices in over 30,000 homes and on over 40 Mn sq feet of commercial real estate. It has plans to scale up to one million devices in the coming months. The startup has effectively conserved over 3 Bn litres of water to date and pledges to further save 10 Bn litres in 2022, as claimed by the startup.

The startup that makes smart water meters, raised $1.5 Mn in a funding round in December 2021 led by Gruhas Proptech, a company backed by Abhijeet Pai of Puzzolana Group and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha.

The startup plans to deploy more water management devices to houses and offices in 2022. WEGoT plans to deploy 10 lakh water management devices by the end of 2022.

Zenatix 

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Amarjeet Singh, Vishal Bansal, Rahul Bhalla
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.4 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, Microsoft Accelerator Bangalore, Pi Ventures,   
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR 

Energy-data startup Zenatix is a data-driven energy efficiency platform that works with banks and large retail chains. 

The cleantech startup helps organisations to save up to 10-30% on their electricity spend. The startup has deployed WattMan in over 500 retail outlets including bank branches and ATMs, across its clientele of 20 companies.

The energy-data startup raised INR 8 Cr in a Pre-Series A round of funding in 2017 led by pi Ventures. 

Zenatix (part of the $11 Bn Hero Group) expanded its operations to the UAE and the Middle East in the April 2022 region to offer organisations a robust cloud-based energy and asset management solution. 

The startup plans to deploy 2,500 WattMan in the coming months, increasing its clientele to over 50-60 companies across India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. 

Based on a subscription-based model of revenues, Zenatix aims to expand more in the international markets in future. 

ZunRoof 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Pranesh Chaudhary, Sushant Sachan
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.7 Mn 
• Investors: Godrej Investment Office, Intellecap Impact Investment Network, Ramakant Sharma, (Livspace); Gaurav Gupta (Dalberg Advisors); Pradeep Tharakan (Asian Development Bank); Vismay Sharma (L’Oréal); Ajith Pai (Paipal Ventures); Arun Diaz (IntelleGrow)
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

ZunRoof specialises in solar rooftop design, installation, and management using technologies such as computer vision, AI and VR. 

The cleantech startup helps reduce its electricity bills by using unutilised rooftops for solar power generation. It also offers IoT devices for power usage monitoring through a companion app.

ZunRoof offers projects with capacity in a range between 1 kilowatt (kW) and 70 kW for residential clients, small factories, schools, hospitals and hotels. Its total installed capacity has crossed 10 Megawatt since its inception in 2016. 

The cleantech startup assessed more than 250,000 homes, designed over 30,000 rooftop solar systems in 75+ cities in India, and installed 15 MW+ of rooftop solar and 50,000+ IoT devices, as of last year.

ZunRoof Tech raised $3 Mn in a Series A round of funding from Godrej Investment Office in 2020. Godrej had invested $1.2 Mn in the startup in a Pre-Series A round in 2019.

The startup entered the solar rooftop market in Bengaluru a few years ago and is planning to enter cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi in future. 

ZunRoof aims to resolve the affordability issue of solar rooftops in Indian homes. It will soon launch its service to improve the affordability of solar rooftops.

Last updated on October 17, 2023

The listicle has been updated to include four new startups – altM, Bambrew, Proklean and Solar Ladder

The post 49 Cleantech Startups Working Towards Making India’s Future Cleaner & Greener appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Premium electric vehicle (EV) motorcycle startup Raptee has raised $3 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by VC fund Bluehill Capital.

The all-equity funding round saw participation from Eugene Mayne, founder and CEO of Tristar Global (UAE); Lakshmi Narayanan, former CEO of Cognizant; Ramesh Kannan, managing director of Kaynes Technology; Chandu Nair, director of Shankara Building Products and other HNIs from India and the UAE.

Founded in 2019, Raptee is an electric motorcycle manufacturer that has submitted more than 45 patent applications. The EV startup claims to have introduced a high-voltage drive train technology in India. It includes an integrated on-board charger, making their motorcycles compatible with the rapidly expanding CCS2 public charging network in India and worldwide.

Raptee EV motorcycle is expected to be launched early next year. The startup plans to expand to 100 cities in India and explore a few international markets over the next three years.

The funds will be used to enhance the manufacturing facility, procure machinery and tooling for the upcoming motorcycle launch, and expand the team.

“India is the largest motorcycle market in the world, with EV adoption on the rise. At Raptee, we want to launch a motorcycle in a mid-premium segment for consumers who believe that EVs are a true upgrade from ICE vehicles,” Dinesh Arjun, cofounder and CEO of Raptee, said.

Raptee has established its first manufacturing facility in Chennai, spanning across 3 acres, and it will serve as the primary production hub for the next two years. This site will accommodate the majority of Raptee’s Research and Development team, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. The proposed investment for this factory would be INR 80 Cr, the startup said.

EV startups are capturing the keen interest of investors increasingly. EV charging infrastructure provider Bolt.Earth is in talks with investors to raise $20 Mn in its Series B round at a valuation of $100 Mn, Inc42 reported yesterday.

Other EV motorcycle startups in India include Ultraviolette, Hop Electric, Motovolt Mobility, Corrit Electric. Last month, Bengaluru-based Ola Electric also announced four electric bikes, which are scheduled to be launched by the end of 2024. The four bikes include – Ola Cruiser, the Ola Roadster, the Ola Adventure and the Ola DiamondHead.

Despite facing challenges such as fire and safety incidents, a lack of adequate charging infrastructure, and policy revamps, electric vehicle (EV) sales in India have demonstrated continued growth since 2020. According to Vahan data, the country has experienced a substantial 700% increase in the number of electric vehicle registrations since that year.

The post Raptee Raises $3 Mn From Bluehill Capital To Launch Premium EV Motorcycle appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In recent years, India has displayed great seriousness about climate change impact and many initiatives have been launched to steadily convert the industries that generate maximum emissions into eco-friendly sectors. 

The country has already pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, and this transformation is critical to progress toward that goal. However, the biggest area of concern for the development of the Indian climate tech industry is access to finance. 

The Government of India has taken some steps to make funds available in the form of loans and subsidies to promote climate tech in the country, but the allocations can’t adequately serve all needs without the private sector’s involvement. 

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), any local, national, or international financing from the public and private sectors aimed towards mitigation of climate change risks is to be regarded as ‘climate financing.’ 

This definition holds great importance for India as we have so far lagged in terms of the ‘green funds’, and financial commitments from corporates toward the development of clean tech. 

Why VCs Need To Play A Greater Role

The funding shortage is not due to a lack of structural maturity of the financial sector in India, but mostly due to the orientation of the funds available. The bulk of the capital in the market is consumed by large-scale enterprises, and companies in highly lucrative sectors such as technology, retail, etc. 

On the other hand, the climate tech sector has a longer gestation period. Startups in this arena need funds to fine-tune their prototypes and concepts to make them scalable and sellable products and services. 

There is a need for greater capital intensity and in most areas, climate tech startups also need to deal with government regulations and certifications while building their business models. Compared to say software ventures, climate startups often struggle to secure enough funding to overcome the “valley of death” between basic research and commercialization. 

The climate tech startups face unique risks to their runway include changing procurement and facility costs and supply chain reliability, all of which worsen their risk profile particularly especially in the absence of a clear path to market and profitability.

VCs Need A Strategic Rethink On Climate Tech

Investments in the climate sector struggle to deliver ROI due to limited investor understanding. In India, there is a lack of deep comprehension compared to the US and Europe, which have advanced climate tech ecosystems. 

Climatetech startups don’t always offer patented technology; they leverage existing ideas to create solutions. It involves ideation, prototyping, testing, refining, and scaling, with iterations and potential pivots. 

This process takes time, with startups typically requiring at least 1000 days to achieve product-market fit and generate revenue. Knowledge asymmetry goes both ways as the scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and other technical specialists responsible for pioneering climate tech advancements often possess limited experience in the realm of finance. 

This makes it imperative for potential funders to also provide knowledge and social capital in addition to financial capital.

Understanding Various Segments Of Climate Tech

Climate tech encompasses different segments like hardware, deep tech, EVs, and renewable energy. In hardware and deep tech, founders with technical expertise can present tangible products clearly to investors, making it easier to demonstrate value. 

However, the transition to EVs will take considerable time, as they currently represent a small fraction of the overall vehicle market. Developing EVs involves various components like powertrains, batteries, software, and data analytics, requiring a deep understanding of EV technology and digital twins concepts. 

In such challenging scenarios, startup founders must demonstrate patience, perseverance, vision clarity, and belief in their solutions. While some investors may struggle to grasp the vision or market potential, founders should remain resilient.

Current Scenario Of VC Funding In Climate Tech

So far, these considerations have implied that investments in the climate tech sector remain mostly confined to early stage and pre-seed companies, and the startups that need funds for the growth stage remain unserved. 

Even when investors see merit in such businesses, they are usually deterred by the scale of investments needed since most climate-tech companies require more capital than an average early stage startup. 

Even among the companies that get early-stage funding in the climate tech arena, the majority are in the EV and renewable energy segments. This has resulted in there being massive unserved demand for the development of other technologies and equipment such as energy efficiency, clean manufacturing, agriculture, waste management, etc. 

The capital intensity of climate startups makes them more sensitive to funding cycles, seeing much larger and longer troughs in access to capital. As general tech VCs realign their portfolios to reduce risk, climate tech startups, particularly ones that need to set up manufacturing units for hardware or say biofuels, would struggle the hardest to raise money. 

Even VCs that maintain a climate tech thesis could switch focus to software-based and capital-light business models. A similar trend was observed in the first cleantech bust, where funding to build demonstration plants and factories evaporated. 

In Conclusion

India has incredible potential for climate tech development, and the country can also emerge as a leading light in the global quest for sustainability and zero-emission living. 

VC firms are providing funds, expertise, and network support, and enabling startups across all aspects of the climate-tech sector to evolve. 

The right combination of investment, guidance, innovation, and policy support from the government will undoubtedly lead India toward a sustainable and prosperous future!

The post Green Horizons: Navigating The Role Of Venture Capital In Fueling India’s Climate Tech Landscape appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Morgan Stanley-backed waste management marketplace Recykal slipped into the red in the financial year ending March 31, 2023. The Hyderabad-based startup reported a net loss of INR 25.7 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as against a net profit of INR 1.2 Cr in FY22. 

Recykal had posted a net profit of INR 1.3 Cr in FY21. 

The startup’s operating revenue jumped 291% to INR 745.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 190.4 Cr in the previous year. Including other income, Recykal reported a total revenue of INR 747.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 190.7 Cr in FY22.

On the expenditure front, the startup’s total expenses surged 308% to INR 773.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 189.5 Cr in FY22. 

Purchase of stock-in-trade accounted for the biggest chunk of expenditure. Recykal spent INR 698.4 Cr for procuring recyclable waste in FY23, a 325.2% jump from INR 164.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Employee benefit expenses rose 123% to INR 29.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 13.2 Cr in the previous year. Employee benefit expenses mostly comprise employee salaries, PF contribution, gratuity, and other employee welfare benefits. 

The startup’s transportation distribution expenses more than tripled to INR 23.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 7.2 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2016 by Abhay Deshpande, the Hyderabad-based startup operates a B2B marketplace for waste management. It connects large waste generators such as industries, organisations, colleges to processors and other players in the segment to address the demand-supply mismatch. Recyclers can buy waste from across the country through the markeplace, while Recykal manages logistics and documentation. It also provides cloud-based solutions to customers. 

Last year, Recykal bagged $22 Mn in a funding round led by Morgan Stanley. The round also saw participation from its existing investors – Singapore-based Circulate Capital, Vellayan Subbiah, and Arun Venkatachalam. Prior to that, it raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round in 2020. 

The startup competes against the likes of Attero, Banyan Nation, plastic waste upcycling startup Lucro Plastecycle, and Sampurna(e)arth.

The post Morgan Stanley-Backed Recykal Slips Into The Red, Posts INR 25.7 Cr Loss In FY23 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In 2008, when the concept of waste management was still in its infancy in India, a Noida-based startup, Attero, entered the arena of recycling electronic waste (e-waste) at a time when the country was leading generators of e-waste globally.

Leveraging the booming consumer electronics products market, Attero started recovering gold, silver, aluminium, and copper from e-waste such as discarded laptops, mobile phones, televisions, and refrigerators.

Before delving deeper into the story of Attero, a Noida-based recycling startup, it is crucial to understand that the idea of recovery, recycling, and reusing metals extracted from discarded electronic devices gained serious attention in the country only in the 2000s. 

Years on, the growth of the recycling sector has largely failed to budge. To put things into perspective, the country could only process 22% of the total 10.1 Lakh Tonnes of e-waste generated in 2019-20, the Central Pollution Control Board data suggests.

While the challenge of processing e-waste is yet to be fully addressed, a new source of more hazardous waste, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, has started dominating the country’s landfills, and at the core of this is the increasing use of mobile phones and growing electric vehicles (EVs).

Familiar with the challenges in the field of e-waste management and the opportunities this sector holds for its stakeholders, Attero fuelled its R&D efforts in the area of Li-ion battery recycling in 2019 to make the country’s EV landscape sustainable. 

In just two years, Attero’s new business vertical took off at a commercial scale, and with this, the e-waste management startup was ready to make waves in the global recycling space, which is expected to reach a market size of $23.6 Bn by 2030.

The Setting Up Of Li-ion Battery Recycling Business

Speaking with Inc42 about its journey in the Li-ion battery recycling space, Attero’s CEO and cofounder Nitin Gupta reminisced that the company soon started receiving an increasing amount of batteries as part of the e-waste sourcing stream. 

“When we dug deeper into it, we realised that Li-ion battery technology is the best battery technology in the world because it’s got the highest energy density, fastest charging time and slowest discharging time. But, most importantly, close to around $100 Bn had been invested in the Li-ion battery ecosystem,” he said.

From its research, Attero realised that this creates two problems. First, as Li-ion batteries become more ubiquitous, they will grow exponentially. Given these are hazardous, they need to be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.

“Besides, the obvious problem today is at least 50% of the cost of EVs is the cost of the batteries, out of which at least 45% is the cost of raw materials that make up the battery, which includes cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, manganese,” Gupta said, adding that these critical battery materials also have significant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

Due to controversies about the environmental impact of mining lithium and child labour in the cobalt mines of the Congo region, the EV ecosystem is already frowned upon by many. 

Also, more than 90% of the world’s lithium gets refined in China, which is caught up in geopolitical issues with India and other nations. With a sharp focus on ESG issues, the company built its Li-ion battery recycling technology and today has a total of 38 global patents under its belt.

Amid all this, Attero has already achieved operational profitability, as it clocked INR 40 Cr in profit and revenues of INR 214 Cr in FY22. Its profit stood at INR 13 Cr and revenues at INR 114 Cr in the year-ago fiscal.

Gupta also claimed that the company is cash flow positive and growing exponentially. Attero claims to have clocked revenues to the tune of INR 300 Cr in FY23.

What’s Behind The Tech?

Today, the biggest challenge for the e-waste processing industry is to recover the maximum amount of raw material from dead batteries at minimum costs.

If we look at the global Li-ion battery recycling market today, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy are the two main Li-ion battery recycling processes that companies prefer to deploy across the globe. However, both processes have certain loopholes. 

While pyrometallurgy has a very low extraction rate, hydrometallurgy demands higher material costs and is a complex process. Before we move on to explaining Attero’s tech, let’s understand the entire battery recycling process in depth.

It must be noted that dead Li-ion batteries or packs are first dismantled and shredded. The shredded material is then processed to produce ‘black mass’, which consists of high amounts of different types of metals.

According to Gupta, most of the Li-ion recycling in India currently stops at the mechanical process, which is proceeding with this ‘black mass’. However, with its hydro process, Attero claims to have gone far beyond to produce pure elements from the black mass.

In the hydro process, the black mass is put through various chemical steps, including leaching, electrowinning, and solvent extraction.

While other global players like SungEel HiTech and US-based Li-Cycle have also adopted the hydrometallurgy process for recycling, their recovery efficiency is low at 75%-80% of cobalt, less than 50% of lithium, 75% of nickel, no graphite, according to Gupta.

However, he claimed that Attero’s patented technology helps it recover more than 98% of lithium carbonate, cobalt, nickel, and graphite from these batteries. 

“In our case, the first thing that we do is leach out graphite. Now, once you do leaching of graphite, we receive two outputs – one stream of leach liquor or liquid, which is graphite-free, and another stream of precipitant, which is pure graphite,” Gupta explained.

The leach liquor that comes out is then put through a copper electrowinning system. Now, at a certain temperature, current and voltage, copper ions dissociate from the solution and get deposited on the cathode. Once again, we receive two outputs — the one that has copper and the second is a leach liquor, which is now copper-free.

Similarly, each metal is extracted separately using this methodology and then they are sold to various industries for reuse.

But when it comes to extracting Lithium, one can only precipitate 50% of lithium at normal temperatures and pressure. However, Attero claims to have broken that limit as well by using its chemical research and technology.

Besides, Attero claims that despite using the hydrometallurgy process, it has the lowest capex per tonne in the world, at $3,200 per tonne, which is at least 40% cheaper compared to others in the battery recycling space.

Gupta said that the minimum capex for a regular hydro process is $5,500 per tonne and for a pyro process, it is $10,000 per tonne.

Attero’s Billion-Dollar Dream In Recycling Business

Attero, which claims to be extremely capital-efficient, has raised a total of around $25 Mn so far from Kalaari Capital, Granite Hill Capital, and others. In FY23, 85% of its business came from e-waste recycling while Li-ion battery recycling accounted for 15% of the total business. 

Attero says that it sells 99.9% pure cobalt chips, which are battery-grade. A part of it is exported while the remaining is sold in India. The company also sells lithium carbonate, which is 99.9% pure and is of pharmaceutical grade.

Notably, lithium carbonate has multiple uses across industries, including in pharmaceuticals, where it is used for the treatment of some neurological disorders.

Similarly, other extracted materials are also put back into the circular economy. Currently, the startup works with around 40 clients in India and globally.

Gupta projects his company’s revenue to touch $1 Bn in the next three years, with 70% coming from Li-ion battery recycling and 30% from e-waste.

Currently, Attero has one manufacturing facility in Uttarakhand, while plans are afoot to set up another facility in the country this year. 

Besides, as part of its global expansion, the startup is setting up manufacturing facilities in Poland and Indonesia. Poland’s hub is expected to start running in 2023, while the operations in the Indonesian facility are expected to kick off next year.

The founder has plans to list Attero on the Indian bourses by 2025.

While globally, Attero competes with giants, including Umicore in Belgium, Glencore in Canada and Redwood Materials in the US, the startup is witnessing competition from the likes of Lohum, ACE Green, and Metastable Materials in India, who have also started to develop technologies to ensure maximum extractions.

However, what could solidify Attero’s footprint in the e-waste management and battery recycling spaces is its unwavering commitment to spending on R&D. With multiple global patents under its belt, the climate tech startup’s road ahead seems full of opportunities, especially when there is an increased awareness towards ESG practices. 

The post How Attero Clocked INR 300 Cr In Revenue By Recycling E-Waste Into Industrial Gold appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Biomaterials startup altM has secured a $3.5 Mn seed funding round led by Omnivore, with participation from Theia Ventures, Thai Wah Ventures, Sanjiv Rangrass, Neha Mudaliar, Maninder Gulati (OYO), Mirik Gogri (Spectrum Impact) and Paula Mariwala (Aureolis Ventures).

altM is Omnivore’s fourth investment under its OmniX Bio initiative, which was set up in 2021 to back early stage agrifood life science startups.

The startup, founded in 2022 by Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain, both ex-Tesla employees, aims to develop and manufacture sustainable materials from agricultural residue to help companies reduce their carbon footprints and increase circularity in their supply chains.

Apoorv Garg, CEO and cofounder at altM, said, “The scale-up of technology from a laboratory bench to commercial production is not a trivial undertaking. Production scale-up is often the death valley for biotech startups. Our focus on go-to-market strategy, execution, and production scale-up will be the differentiator to most endeavours we see in the world of biomaterials today.”

altM uses lignocellulosic agricultural residues as their raw material to produce advanced materials as alternatives to unsustainable incumbents. Lignocellulosic residue refers to dry plant residue and includes wheat, rice, barley straw, corn stover, sorghum stalks, coconut husks, sugarcane bagasse and banana leaves, among others.

Given its sustainability potential and functional properties, lignocellulosic residue can be used to develop materials such as paper, biofuels and polymers, among other classes of usable chemicals.

Mark Kahn, managing partner at Omnivore, said, “With Apoorv and Yugal’s background in manufacturing excellence, altM’s entry into industrial alternative materials will hasten the global shift towards sustainability and circularity. Omnivore is very excited to be a part of their journey as we kick off our new fund.”

According to government statistics, India has more than 6,000 biotech startups. Earlier this year, Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh termed biotech startups crucial to shaping India’s future economy. 

Singh added that the country’s bioeconomy has witnessed significant growth in the past few years, increasing from $8 Bn in 2014 to $100 Bn currently. He also expressed confidence that the sector will continue to flourish and will reach the $150 Bn mark by 2025.

The Centre has also undertaken a slew of measures to strengthen India’s biotech sector and promote biotech startups.

Last year, the government launched a single-window national portal for startups and researchers seeking regulatory clearance for biological research. In August 2022, the government also announced 75 ‘Amrit’ grants for collaborative biotech initiatives involving startups and academia. 

Besides, BIRAC also offers grants of up to INR 50 Lakhs, under the BIG Scheme, for budding biotech startups to validate their ideas, develop prototypes and establish proof of concept. 

The post Biomaterials Startup altM Raises Funding To Cut Carbon Footprints In Industrial Supply Chains appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shared electric mobility startup GreenCell Mobility on Monday (July 24) said that it has secured a debt funding of INR 3,000 Cr from state-owned REC Ltd (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited). 

The startup will use the fresh funds to acquire 3,000 electric buses and establish a robust charging infrastructure network. The capital will also be deployed to support projects for developing alternative fuel technology buses and other battery energy storage initiatives.

The startup signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with REC for the debt funding. As per the company, the MoU will not only be applicable for existing projects but also for any future projects undertaken by GreenCell Mobility.

Under the terms of the agreement, all subsidiaries of the startup, involved in the area of electric mass mobility as a service, will be eligible to avail financial assistance from the public sector enterprise for all related activities over the next five years, up to March 2028.

“We are extremely delighted to join forces with REC Limited… With REC Limited’s financial backing, our vision of revolutionising urban mobility, minimising carbon emissions, and improving the well-being of our communities comes one step closer to reality. We pledge to conscientiously and efficiently employ these funds to build a greener, cleaner, and more interconnected future,” GreenCell Mobility MD and CEO Devndra Chawla said.

Founded in 2019, GreenCell Mobility acquires e-buses via contract manufacturing basis from vendors. It then puts these buses on the roads for both inter-city and intra-city travel. It also plans to build a platform to provide electric Mobility-as-a-Service (eMaaS). 

In November last year, the startup secured $55 Mn in debt funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)  and Clean Technology Funds (CTF) for 255 electric buses. 

GreenCell Mobility plans to invest INR 1,500 Cr to double its electric buses in India over the next year. It also plans to add 1,200 more such buses for both intra and inter-city travel, and set up necessary charging infrastructure across the country. 

Currently, GreenCell has 850 e-buses on the roads, and aims to reach the 2,000 mark by the end of this financial year. Currently, it provides services in 11 cities at intercity level and plans to add 4-5 more cities in FY24. 

The startup operates within the larger EV space which has seen big growth in the past few years. With further push from the government, the EV market is slated to grow to a size of $152 Bn by 2027, as per a report.

The post GreenCell Mobility Bags INR 3,000 Cr Debt Funding From REC To Acquire 3,000 E-Buses appeared first on Inc42 Media.

EV smart battery manufacturer Neuron Energy has raised INR 20 Cr in a pre-Series A round led by Equanimity Investments and the Rajiv Dadlani Group. The round also saw participation from Chona Family Office (Havmor Group) and Kayenne Ventures, along with reputed family offices and HNI investors.

Founded in 2018 by Pratik Kamdar and Raj Shah, Neuron Energy offers lead-acid and lithium-ion technology smart batteries for ebike, erickshaws, and golf carts. 

The startup plans to use the freshly raised funds to execute key initiatives including ICAT Certifications. It also plans to increase the employee count by expanding its R&D team and hiring CXO’s and senior management positions.

Further, the funding will fuel Neuron’s Li-ion smart battery manufacturing for EV 2Ws and 3Ws and also aid the startup to venture into the drone space. 

Commenting on the funding, Kamdar said, “Neuron Energy is committed to serving a broader customer base with top-of-the-line, rigorously tested lithium-Ion smart battery packs, and this funding will undoubtedly propel us towards achieving that goal.”

According to the startup, this round is a major milestone, as it plans to cross the INR 100 Cr net sales revenue mark this year and achieve the target of over INR 500 Cr net sales, with robust profitability, over the next few years. 

Additionally, Neuron has expanded its export footprint to the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, and aims to capture a significant share of the EV battery market in these regions. 

Neuron sells its products across India through depots and distributors and claims to have established itself as a trusted and reliable name across the OEMs. 

Though questions have been raised on the FAME-II policy, EV startups are steadily rising on the popularity graph.

Recently, Neuron’s competitor Battery Smart raised $33 Mn funding to add 100K customers to its network by 2025, and expand its geographic footprint.

Another battery manufacturer from the US International Battery Company (IBC) reportedly met Karnataka’s Industries Minister MB Patil to discuss setting up a manufacturing plant in the state with an investment of INR 8,000 Cr.

The post Neuron Energy Bags INR 20 Cr Funding To Make Li-ion Smart Batteries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The 2023 Budget prioritised green technology, with the government highlighting the need to build momentum to reach India’s Net Zero targets by 2070. The ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ or ‘LiFE’ movement is its proposed vehicle for this.

It would begin with a number of government initiatives, including a Green Credit programme under the Environment Protection Act, a Green Hydrogen Mission, and other initiatives. These measures demonstrate that green technologies are no longer viewed solely as necessary to protect the environment, but also as economically beneficial. 

The government’s emphasis on sustainability could not have come at a better time. India has a fantastic opportunity to become a dominant force in green technologies. It is crucial for the government to provide substantial support to foster the growth of green tech startups. 

These startups will develop technologies to capitalise on the potential of India’s manufacturing sector, which is currently on the rise. This trend contrasts sharply with the recent wave of layoffs at major IT companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Accenture. 

A recent survey by FICCI showed that 70% of manufacturing capacity is being utilised, suggesting sustained economic activity in the sector. More importantly, 40% of respondents indicated plans to increase capacity. This stands in stark contrast to the recent layoffs in 2023. Tech layoffs in the first three months of 2023 have already surpassed those in the entire year of 2022. 

India can leverage the potential of its thriving tech startup ecosystem to establish globally competitive industries in electric vehicles (EVs), alternative energy, carbon capture, energy efficiency, and other critical technologies by making the right strategic decisions.

Focusing On Startups And R&D

Particular attention needs to be paid to tech startups in this endeavour as well as overall efforts to improve research and development (R&D) capacity. This dual track will help India meet its green targets for net zero, EV adoption, and renewables. 

Innovation is the need of the hour. It is not enough for products to be Made in India; they must also be Designed in India. This will ensure that the sector’s value creation is entirely captured on Indian soil. More importantly, a robust R&D pipeline will shift Indian manufacturing from being reactive and executing the designs of others to being proactive and setting the pace of innovation.

The recent budget announcement has provided a boost to existing government schemes targeting tech companies and startups, such as Production-Linked Incentives (PLIs) and sector-specific schemes like the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles II (FAME-II) for EVs. 

The emphasis on supporting startups in logistics, infrastructure, and financial services is a welcome addition to the existing framework. Green credit programmes are also a step in the right direction, encouraging businesses to adopt sustainable business and construction practices that will result in increased energy efficiency.

Navigating Challenges In Funding & Government Programmes

However, startups face challenges that prevent them from fully utilising these schemes. PLIs, for example, are geared towards larger companies and have minimum investment requirements that may be out of reach for startups.  The government must take a more nuanced approach to ensure that these programmes are accessible to startups while also remaining effective. 

Ultimately, it is a chicken and egg problem. Startups lack the scale to invest but frequently struggle to find funding until they reach scale because traditional lenders are often hesitant to invest in early-stage companies. The budget announcement of an INR 10,000 Cr fund for startups is a positive step in this direction, but more needs to be done to ensure that funding is available to all startups, regardless of size or stage of development.

When it comes to R&D, one major challenge that startups face is competing with the resources of established companies. Often, startups lack the resources to invest in R&D, which is critical to their long-term success. 

The government can assist startups by providing funding and partnering with academic institutions and research centres. The announcement of three Centres of Excellence for AI research is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, more such centres will open with different areas of specialisation.

Despite these challenges, the potential of tech startups to drive economic progress and establish competitive local industries cannot be ignored. More support in critical areas will be required to fully realise the sector’s potential. Ensuring that funding is accessible to all startups, regardless of their size or stage of development, and providing support for R&D will be pivotal right now. The government will need to take a nuanced approach to ensure that existing schemes are made more accessible to startups without compromising their effectiveness. With the right support, India’s tech startups can be a driving force for economic progress and local industries.

The post Decoding The Growth Potential Of India’s Green Tech Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C brand Koparo, which offers home cleaning products, has raised a Pre-Series A funding of $1.5 Mn led by Saama Capital. The round also saw participation from Fluid Ventures and M Venture Partners along with new angels Rajesh Sawhney (founder and CEO of GSF Accelerator), Sridhar Sankararaman (Multiples PE), and Ramesh Menon (ex-Future Group, Hypercity). In addition, existing investor DSG Consumer Partners also participated in the round. 

Koparo stated that the funds will be used for strengthening offline presence, building brand and dive product innovation. The startup claims that since the last funding round of $750K last year, it has grown 10x. 

Commenting on the funding round, Simran Khara, founder, Koparo, said, “The modern Indian home is ready for new cleaning products that are effective yet not laden with harsh chemicals. Several sub-categories within cleaning are already responding well to our proposition. With the backing of some of the best consumer investors, we feel confident of executing well on our category defining play at Koparo.”

Founded in 2020 by Khara, the D2C brand offers a range of 15 products in the core cleaning, specialty cleaning, and accessories categories. It earns 40% of the overall revenue by selling products through its own website, while the other channels include leading e-comm sites and 70 stores of Reliance Retail and Modern Bazaar.

Sensing the increasing demand for its products, Koparo plans to launch variants of its top selling products to offer a wide range of cleaners catering to modern Indian cleaning needs, and introduce complementing kitchen and home cleaning accessories. 

The startup aims to grow faster in the laundry vertical as well and aims to launch pet friendly laundry products soon. It has also launched a kennel wash for the pet homes. In the next 18-20 months, the startup aims to grow its revenue by 8x, by focusing on its core range, expanding distribution points, and introducing products in newer sub-categories.

Koparo notes that according to an IMARC report, the household cleaning market in India reached $7.5 Bn in 2022 and the projected growth rate in the next five years is 18.9% CAGR. in the mentioned market, the startup competes with conglomerates such as Reckitt, Hindustan Unilever, BB Homes etc.

The Indian D2C market is home to over 50,000 digital-first brands. Though the funding winter affected the whole startup ecosystem of India, the D2C brands saw positive growth. In Q2 2022, funding raised by bridge-stage D2C brands grew 101% QoQ to $26.4 Mn.

Inc42 found that the market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 24% between 2021 and 2030. The study further found that the total addressable market opportunity of $300 Bn by that year

The post D2C Brand Koparo Raises Funding From Saama, DSG For Its Home Cleaning Products appeared first on Inc42 Media.

There’s no denying the fact that the future of the transport industry is purely electric. However, in a bid to cherish this much-desired landscape of tomorrow, nations across the globe today need to address key issues that are marring the electric vehicle (EV) space. 

Ranging from rising incidents of EVs catching fire to a snailing charging time, range anxiety among consumers, and a half-baked EV infrastructure, the issues are galore, and India is no exception.

However, a major silver lining is that an increasing number of industry players today understand that these issues need to be tackled with an iron hand for greener and cleaner days to come.

Amid the ongoing concerns, Bengaluru-based EMO Energy has emerged as one of the pioneering names in addressing the two major challenges plaguing EV adoption in the country – safety and charging efficiency. 

Founded in February 2022 by EV industry veterans Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel, EMO Energy aims to contribute to the country’s EV growth with its 30-minute chargeable portable battery packs and a full-stack technology offering — all built in-house.

At a time when the competition is on the rise in the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery manufacturing space with names like Exponent, Log9 Materials, and Cygni, among others, EMO Energy aims to create a niche for itself with its integrated tech stack for two- and three-wheeler EVs, and heavy-duty vehicles.

It is pertinent to mention that most EV batteries in the market today take several hours to fully charge. The charging time could, however, vary depending on multiple factors such as battery size, the capacity of charging points and cells, and ambient temperature, among others. 

And at a time when international EV players are researching to bring this down to as low as 10 minutes, the Indian market is slowing making headways to stay abreast of its global peers with startups like EMO Energy in the race now. 

Meanwhile, the growing incidents of EVs catching fires is another major concern that has to be urgently dealt with. Although the Indian government has come up with amended battery testing norms, taking cognizance of such incidents, a large number of batteries in circulation today continues to pose a major risk.

In this scenario, the Indian EV industry needs more competent players that have the potential to nib these issues in the bud before they start impacting the country’s EV goals.

EMO Energy’s Journey So Far

Tyagi and Patel met at Ola Electric where the duo handled top positions in the company’s battery manufacturing division. Tyagi, also a former Tesla employee, had been aspiring to start an EV venture but was looking for the right partner. It was during this time that he got the opportunity to share his vision with Patel, and, as luck would have it, a partnership was forged with a firm handshake. 

With over 20 years of aggregate experience in the EV industry, Tyagi and Patel left their jobs at Ola Electric in November 2021, paving the way for EMO Energy. The duo dedicated all their time and effort to R&D at a research lab in Bengaluru for the initial six months.

Now, after a year since the beginning of its full-fledged operations, EMO Energy has already piloted around 100 batteries with almost 10 EV companies in the country. While its focus has been more on EV fleet operators, it also counts EV manufacturers and battery-swapping stations as its clients.

The startup claims that for almost a year now, it’s been testing its batteries in different climatic conditions, geographies, and vehicles. Currently, it runs its operations and a testing lab in Bengaluru and has a factory in Mysuru.

The cofounders of EMO Energy claim to have built all the battery components in-house, except for lithium-ion cells and semiconductors, which the company imports. 

The company calls its technology platform ZEN, which has different applications, including ZEN PAC (swappable battery packs for two- and three-wheelers), ZEN Rig (battery packs for heavy-duty vehicles), ZEN Ctrl. (battery management system and connected software), and ZEN Wall (fully integrated battery inverter system for residential and light commercial use).

In fact, besides its battery capabilities, EMO Energy is also piloting connected software, which it wants to offer as an integrated offering along with its battery packs. 

The software would enable the startup to provide an end-to-end solution to its clients while ensuring enhanced safety, accountability, and efficiency to fleet operators.

“Integration between software and hardware is what gives us that edge. There are battery manufacturing companies, there are battery software companies, and these entities are building fairly basic systems. When you combine those to the level that we have, it gives you amazing results in terms of battery safety, performance, and life,” said Tyagi, cofounder and CEO of EMO Energy.

Since its inception, the startup has raised $1.5 Mn in two rounds, with investors like Transition VC and Gruhas backing its latest seed round.

To fast-track its offering capabilities and scale production to at least 1,000 batteries a month, EMO Energy is looking to raise around $10 Mn in the next two to three months in a Pre-Series A round from existing and new investors.

In the first year of its operation, the startup has generated a revenue of INR 1 Cr and is aiming to make a 20X growth in the top line in FY24. 

While many of its offerings are still under the pilot phase, the startup is generating revenues by selling 2-kilowatt hour (kWh), 2.5 kWh, and 3 kWh battery packs for two- and three-wheelers.

What’s In The Startup’s Tech Stack?

With safety and fast-charging as its key value proposition, EMO Energy claims that its 2 kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery pack for two and three-wheelers provides 100% fire protection. The operating temperature of these batteries ranges between -20 degrees and 60 degrees Celsius. 

The startup’s 2.5 kWh and 3 kWh battery packs have similar capabilities, provide a warranty of five years and are in compliance with the newly amended AIS 156 phase 1 and 2 testing norms. 

The startup has also built a 10 kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery pack for three-wheelers and light commercial vehicles. These battery packs weigh 110 kg and can operate between -10 degrees and 50 degrees Celsius. 

Besides, EMO Energy is building an NMC battery pack of 30 kWh for heavy-duty vehicles, which would have a charging time of 30 minutes and a life of 3,000 charging cycles. This battery pack is still under testing, and its production is expected to start in November this year.

After all, Tyagi believes that while two- and three-wheelers are great, there is an urgent and pressing need for electrifying larger systems.

“We have got a lot of interest from different sectors like agriculture (for tractors), cold storage, and commercial vehicles. Now, the objective is to make a modular system that we can scale across everything because the vision is to get India electric as quickly as possible,” the CEO added.

Hence, to cater to different use cases and applications, EMO Energy is also testing various cell chemistries for building EV batteries. Besides Li-ion cells, the startup is working with sodium-ion cells to make batteries safer and more efficient.

It must be noted that sodium-ion cells are safer and less volatile to temperature changes compared to Li-ion cells. According to Tyagi, sodium-ion cells are slowly getting prominence in the global EV ecosystem but it is yet to hit the Indian roads. However, tests for their use cases are being currently conducted at EMO, we were told.

The startup has plans to make its inverter system ZEN Wall, currently under pilot testing with Li-ion cells, run on sodium-ion cells later.

Can EMO Sustain In The EV Race?

The incidents of EVs catching fire hint at the fact several industry players have made compromises initially in a rush to benefit from the EV adoption wave in the country.

However, with timely intervention from the government, the industry has grown more cautious. While many homegrown players today understand the need to produce EV batteries suitable to the Indian climate, the space continues to take the blame on behalf of many who import components and assemble such batteries in India. 

Amid the current scheme of things, EMO Energy wants to accelerate EV vehicle adoption by providing products that are safe, efficient and in line with the country’s larger EV requirements.

Speaking with Inc42, Tyagi said that the failure rate of EMO Energy’s batteries (at the pilot stage) is still a little high, which he is hopeful of bringing down to less than 1% in the coming months. 

Besides, as a propagator of fast charging, Tyagi says that the standard NMC and LFP cells in the market today are capable of 30-minute charging. However, he believes that the Indian EV ecosystem is yet to crack the code to understanding cell chemistries and mechanicals that are crucial for enhanced outputs of these batteries.    

The CEO of the EV battery startup said while there is a growing market competition today, the market would consolidate into a handful of trusted players who bring more originality than just assembling battery parts.

Amid the claims of the cofounder around the startup’s unique value propositions, it remains to be seen how this new market entrant will grow to become one of the pioneers shaping the future of the country’s promising vehicle electrification space. 

Meanwhile, despite the policy hurdles, India’s EV adoption is showing promising growth, particularly led by growing interest in electric two-wheelers. In May, electric two-wheeler registrations crossed the 1 Lakh mark for the first time.

In fact, in the first five months of the year, total EV registrations in India surpassed 6 Lakh, which was around 3.4 Lakh units in the corresponding period of 2022.

The post Batteries From The Future? Here’s How EMO Energy Plans To Douse EV Fires With Its Tech Stack appeared first on Inc42 Media.

EMO Energy has raised $1.2 Mn in a seed round led by Transition VC, and co-led by Gruhas.

The Bengaluru-based startup raised an undisclosed amount from 100X and other angel investors, in a Pre-Seed round last year.

Established in 2022 by Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel, the startup is a deep-tech energy solutions platform that focuses on decarbonising through the implementation of battery-powered solutions in high-power consuming applications. 

EMO Energy offers battery packs to light EVs that are powered by ZEN, its cell agnostic tech platform. 

Tyagi claims that the startup’s goal is to enable mass adoption of EVs and ESS by the deployment of ZEN. According to him, EMO’s ZEN PAC offers battery packs for 3 and 2 wheelers that can be charged in 20 minutes. 

He further stated that the startup has tested these battery packs for more than 10,000 kms with multiple OEMs and fleet operators across the most extreme environmental conditions (-20 degrees to 60 degrees). 

Tyagi further added, “Transition VC is also enabling our access to the grid storage market (for residential and commercial applications such as lead acid battery & diesel genset replacement) which will help us in deploying ZEN for grid storage applications in the near future.”

Adding to this, Transition VC’s general partner Rajesh Doshi said, “The 2 & 3-wheeler EV market is fragmented today. Our estimates say that 50-60% of companies will outsource their powertrain components, which will be approximately an INR 23,850 crore ($2.9 billion) market opportunity in 2025.”

In a blog post the startup noted that though India had a 4% EV Market share in 2022. Over 3 Lakh vehicles were sold in 2021-22, a growth of 160% over 2020-21. 

According to EMO, India’s EV market size is expected to reach $152.21 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 94.4%, during the forecast period of 2021-2030. A majority of these vehicles will use lithium ion (Li) Batteries and will require a personal or public charger station to recharge the same. 

Recently Kazam, another startup in this segment, has raised $3.6 Mn in a round led by Avaana Climate Fund. 

In the meantime, the Indian government aims to have  30% private EVs, 70% commercial EVs, and 80% two and three wheelers by 2030. 

As of March, there were a total of 21.7 Lakh EVs registered in the country.

The post EMO Energy Bags Funding To Focus On Decarbonisation Through Battery-Powered Solutions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Indian startups have shifted their focus to environmentally friendly and sustainable models. The new sustainable models are making a positive impact on society and the environment by reducing carbon emissions, promoting circular economies, and creating better livelihoods. Startups can help to build a more sustainable and robust future, as well as contribute to economic growth and job creation.  

Rise Of Tech-Enabled & Environmentally Conscious Startups In India

Green unicorns are the new generation of Indian startups. They are tech-enabled and environmentally conscious. Their products and services promote a sustainable future for their consumers and the planet, and they work towards safer processes and greater efficiency. 

Green startups are driving technological advancements in the field of sustainability, helping to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment with their innovative ideas. Their efforts are essential in mitigating the effects of climate change and promoting a healthier and more prosperous society. These startups truly have the potential to become green unicorns and lead the way in sustainable business practices.

Growing Importance Of Sustainability & Social Responsibility In Business

The business domain is placing growing importance on making a difference in society and the environment. Startups that promote social responsibility and ecologically friendly practices are receiving funding from MNCs, VCs, and corporations. Growing awareness of the damaging effects of human activities on the environment and a dedication to ethical business practices are the driving forces behind this change. Leading companies are integrating sustainability into their business practices, such as Coca-Cola’s commitment to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 and at least 50% recycled materials by 2030.

Sustainability startups often face difficulty accessing specialised infrastructure, such as renewable energy sources or waste management facilities, to operate effectively. Collaboration with larger companies can provide access to the necessary infrastructure and resources. For example, sustainability startups can partner with larger organisations to access their supply chains and distribution networks, which can help them reach new markets and scale their operations.

Government Initiatives To Promote Sustainability & Encourage Investment In Green Tech

To promote sustainability and encourage investment in green technologies, the Indian government has launched several initiatives in recent years. For example, the National Clean Energy Fund and the Green Energy Corridor are aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy sources, while the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is focused on improving waste management and sanitation. 

The Green Economy: A Growing Market For Startups

It is becoming increasingly common to see new business models popping up around the world, driven by the increase in the value of environmental assets. 

These new models are focused on greening higher-growth industries and dealing with sustainable development. The emerging green economy may be small right now, but there are still several startups springing up all over the world. 

The Emerging Green Economy: Paving The Way For India’s Next Unicorn

With the growing importance of environmental sustainability in the business world, it’s no surprise that Indian startups are moving towards greener business practices. Green unicorns are leading the way in this shift, offering innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions, promote circular economies, and create a better future for all. 

Collaboration with larger companies and government initiatives to promote green technologies and sustainability are also helping to drive this change. With the emerging green economy already worth an estimated $1 Tn annually, the future looks bright for India’s next unicorn to possibly be a green unicorn.

The post Can India’s Next Unicorn Be A Green Unicorn? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India is rapidly progressing towards establishing itself as one of the leading solar energy-producing nations. As of April 12, 2023, the country boasts an impressive installed capacity of 66.78 gigawatts (GW), positioning it as the fourth-largest country in terms of solar energy capacity.

Notably, in the first quarter of 2022, India added 456 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar capacity, up 13% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 34% YoY. With this kind of adoption, the industry is set for a bright future, especially when the country’s potential for rooftop solar is estimated at 200 GW.

However, supply chain issues, a lack of working capital financing and high fragmentation have fettered the growth of the industry, which is expected to reach $50 Bn in size by 2030.

Realising the potential that the nation’s solar energy industry holds, along with the challenges denting its current state, Manan Mehta, Abhishek Pillai and Farhan Ahmed founded cleantech startup Solar Ladder in 2021.

The startup’s approach is simple – help the thousands of small businesses operating in the rooftop solar industry scale and boost solar adoption in India.

“We are sitting on one of the biggest opportunities of our lifetimes. This is because rooftop solar is one of the first commercially viable and decentralised sources of energy,” Mehta, the cofounder and CEO told Inc42 in an exclusive interaction.

Charging Up The Supply Chains

“We realised that most of the bottlenecks lie in the supply chain and financing,” Mehta said, adding that although a solar business appears to be primarily focused on technical aspects, it requires a lot of working capital. “Whether it’s a manufacturer, distributor, EPC provider, or an end user, access to working capital is crucial for scaling operations.” 

In the solar industry, EPC means engineering, procurement, and construction. It is a term that is used by companies that provide end-to-end solar energy services, including design, procurement and installation of rooftop solar energy systems.

The CEO added that the core of the bottleneck was financing and the complex web of suppliers and manufacturers an EPC provider has to go through.

Essentially, Solar Ladder employs a typical margin differential playbook, where it earns money by procuring components from manufacturers in China and India in bulk and then selling them to EPC providers and rooftop solar companies.

Having partnered with five NBFCs, the Mumbai-based startup also offers collateral-free financing to both EPC installers and end users. The founders said that they have offered credit to 50+ SMEs and 50+ end users to the tune of INR 8 Cr and INR 1 Cr, respectively, since the second half of 2022.

Climbing India’s Sun-Rich Rooftops With Solar Ladder

The full-stack supply chain platform for solar installation companies provides software which solar installers use to run their business. 

“On top of that is a layer of procurement, which allows them to procure the required equipment,” Mehta said.

Interestingly, the company built its software solution first and then pivoted to offering supply chain solutions.

Speaking about the cleantech startup’s current plans, cofounder Pillai said digitalising EPC installers was a priority, as many of them were using traditional methods like spreadsheets or, at best, run-of-the-mill CRM software to manage their operations.

“Solar Ladder offers a free SaaS tool that includes modules such as sales, marketing, installation, accounts and project management. It gives EPC installers more visibility into a business’s various functions such as ongoing projects, inventory and payments,” the cofounder said. 

While the sales module is free to use, EPC providers are charged for more premium modules as they scale.

This also couples with the startup’s procurement business and working capital loans and augments EPC providers’ inventory and capacity to handle more concurrent projects, allowing them to scale up rapidly.

The cofounder said that Solar Ladder’s SaaS solution has onboarded 300+ users since 2021, including big names such as Mahindra Solarize and Fourth Partner Energy.

“However, despite witnessing 5X growth over the past year, the SaaS solution is only a small part of our revenue compared to our supply chain solutions, which dominate our balance sheet. Plus, we are PAT positive,” Mehta told Inc42.

Solar Ladder Raises INR 11 Cr To Fuel Its Ambitions

Solar Ladder aspires to build a managed marketplace that includes everything from procurement, sales, installation, after-sales services, working capital loans and long-term financing, built atop a layer of SasS.

To fuel its ambitions, the startup recently announced that it raised INR 11 Cr from Axilor Ventures, Titan Capital, DeVC, Stride Ventures and several angel investors, including Varun Alagh.

“Solar Ladder is one of the most capital-efficient and frugally innovative teams we’ve invested in. The founders have been passionately working on the ground and understanding every facet of the industry. Their early set of customers have grown manifolds and we are excited to see them replicate the business model on a larger scale,” said Bipin Shah, a partner at Titan Capital.

With a profitable business model set to consolidate one of the most important industries in the energy sector in coming years, Solar Ladder looks set to maximise the $50 Bn potential India’s rooftop solar sector has to offer.

The cleantech startup competes with the likes of Blume-backed Aerem, although the cofounders do not consider it a direct competitor. 

Solar Ladder has raised funding at a time when the Indian government has set a goal of achieving 100 GW in installed solar capacity in the next few years. In the first quarter of 2023, the cleantech segment bagged more than $6 Mn in funding across five deals, down 32% and 44% compared to Q1 2022.

The post Here’s How Solar Ladder Is Fast Tracking India’s Solar Energy Adoption appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the ongoing funding winter and the issues around the FAME-II scheme, which have impacted the sales of electric two-wheeler manufacturers, Okinawa Autotech is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $100 Mn (about INR 800 Cr) from private equity firms.

As per a report by the Economic Times, the startup’s MD Jeetender Sharma told the publication that it would utilise the fresh funds to commission its third manufacturing facility.

Okinawa was not immediately available to comment on the development.

As per the report, Okinawa’s new manufacturing facility will have an installed capacity of 1 Mn units. The fresh funding will also be used to develop new products and manufacture powertrains indigenously.

“We will close a tranche of $100 Mn shortly. The capital will be utilised to develop products, enhance technology of the powertrain, set up capacity in-house for manufacturing powertrains and to operationalise fresh production capacity at our third facility in Rajasthan,” Sharma was quoted as saying. 

Okinawa currently has a total production capacity of 3 Lakh units annually. Its new unit is expected to be commissioned by the end of the current fiscal year, as per the report.

Sharma said that the government’s decision to stall the disbursal of FAME-II subsidy incentives has created pressure on the startup’s cash flows but it has been able to go ahead with its expansion plans. 

It must be noted that Okinawa, along with 13 other two-wheeler EV manufacturers, has been under the government’s scanner for allegedly floating localisation norms under the FAME-II scheme. Hero Electric and Okinawa were the first two OEMs whose incentives were suspended under the scheme. 

This has also impacted sales of Okinawa’s two-wheeler EVs. It saw a sharp fall in registrations of its EVs in April 2023, which stood at just 3,217 units.

It must be noted that despite its vehicles being involved in multiple fire incidents last year, Okinawa held the second spot, behind Ola Electric, for months in 2022 in terms of two-wheeler EV registrations. One such fire incident also claimed the lives of two persons in Tamil Nadu. 

After several such incidents, the company also recalled 3,215 units of its Praise Pro Scooters in April last year. Despite this, the company registered record vehicle registrations of 14,946 units in October 2022.

While there has been a recent fall in sales, Sharma said Okinawa is positive about the market and expects to grow by 30%-40% in FY24. It is also looking to expand its distribution network to 700 sales outlets from 540 currently. 

Besides, Okinawa aims to invest INR 800-INR 1,000 Cr over the next three years to increase sales to 1 Mn units per annum by 2025-26. It also aims to set up 1,000-1,200 dealerships by then.

Meanwhile, as per a latest report, the government has slapped a fine of INR 116 Cr on Okinawa for flouting localisation norms under the FAME-II scheme. However, the company denied this. 

“The company hasn’t received any notice from the government to refund subsidies from 2019-20 and [is] surprised by the media questions,” it said in a statement.

The post EV Maker Okinawa Autotech In Talks To Raise $100 Mn Amid Funding Winter, FAME-II Crisis appeared first on Inc42 Media.

A year after it promised its stakeholders that it would commission a lithium-ion (Li-ion) manufacturing plant, battery startup Log9 unveiled the country’s maiden commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line this week. 

The new facility, based in Bengaluru’s Jakkur, will churn out batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. With an initial capacity of 50 MWh (megawatt-hour), the plant will largely cater to lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell manufacturing. 

The line will also support manufacturing of large form factor cylindrical cells ranging from 22 Series to 66 Series. 

The launch event also saw the unveiling of the startup’s in-house battery management system (BMS) called Charvik. This new system comes embedded with power control mechanisms and SoX algorithms to ensure safety and reliability for applications.

The startup also shared insights on its tech stack plan which enables fast charging of LFP batteries on public charging networks while preserving cycle life of batteries. It also gave a sneak-peek into its advanced cooling technologies, cell design and cell control mechanisms.

“It is a moment of great pride for us to commission India’s first commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line on the 2nd edition of Day Zero. On this day, we also want to congratulate all the Log9ers who have been a part of this journey,” said Akshay Singhal, cofounder and CEO of Log9.

The event also saw the startup launching its academic engagement program called Log9 Rise which aims to support the creation of a talent pool in the battery tech ecosystem in the country. 

Founded in 2015 by Singhal, Kartik Hajela and Pankaj Sharma, Log9 is a deeptech startup that manufactures batteries for EVs and energy storage. Its product portfolio includes the RapidX range of EV batteries which cater largely to two-wheeler EVs. 

From being incubated at IIT-Roorkee in 2015 to building a full fledged plant in the outskirts of Bengaluru, Log9 has put its plans to scale up operations in full throttle mode. What has helped is the growing clean energy needs of the country and an equally attractive EV market which has grown multifold in the past few years. 

The big-ticket $40 Mn funding round raised earlier this year, led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd and Petronas Ventures, appears to have only strengthened its plans. 

Log9 claims to have so far deployed more than 3,000 batteries in EVs and expanded its footprints to more than 20 cities in the country, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.

Its products such as Nanocaps are largely powered by state-of-the-art 3 volt ultracapacitors, built on the back of 16 patents that the startup has for graphene synthesis and graphene products. Log9 claims that its batteries offer higher energy and power density while having the lowest current leakage. On the other hand, its aluminium fuel cells run on air and water, and pack 8000 Whr/kg of energy. 

Log9 largely partners with businesses across three tiers which include onboarding of charging partners and fleet solution partners. Then there is the aspect of clean mobility solutions under which it partners directly with OEMs to offer battery-related solutions.

As India marches towards its goal of EV30@30, the startup is well poised to leverage the burgeoning market. What has further helped is the government incentives and emergence of EV startups that have pushed the space and scaled up EV penetration in the country. 

While the Centre has slashed GST on all types of lithium-ion batteries, the space has its own set of challenges. Lack of availability of raw materials and skilled labour in the industry is a major constraint for the growth of EV battery segment in India. 

As a result, companies have to import products which adds to the costs. Then there is the major issue of environmental compliance which pose major challenges to the operation of such startups. 

Despite this, the outlook for the space looks promising with the homegrown lithium-ion battery market projected to have clinched a revenue of $4.29 Bn in 2022. This number is estimated to reach $25.3 Bn by 2031 on the back of growing demand for EV batteries and higher adoption of EVs. 

The post Log9 Eyes A Big Pie Of EV Battery Space With Launch Of Li-ion Cell Manufacturing Unit appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s automotive industry has gone through a paradigm shift in the recent past, and the advent of electric vehicles (EVs) is primarily responsible for this revolution. 

However, the shift towards an emission-free future would have been a long shot if the Government of India wasn’t committed to providing a boost to this green sector by incentivising the stakeholders – both buyers and sellers.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport data, the number of electric two-wheelers sold in India in 2022 stood at 6,30,584, mirroring a jump of 304% in EV adoption from 1,56,172 EV two-wheelers in 2021.

Despite the rapid transition, the country’s EV users are bogged down in challenges like slow charging time, a lack of charging infrastructure, battery life, and safety and quality concerns, which can be seen as major deterrents to the adoption of EVs in India.

Fortunately, we have minds like Rahul Lamba, Prashant Rathee and Pratik Somani, the founders of The Energy Company, who are developing solutions to make EVs more efficient and have plans to nib the challenge of range anxiety in the bud — before it becomes a fully grown 10-legged Kraken haunting the space.

The trio was part of the founding team at Ather Energy and product managers at mobility startup Micelio. 

With enough experience to rule the roost in the two-wheeler EV space, they founded the Energy Company in 2021 and have so far been successful in developing full-stack energy solutions for EVs, including a fast-charging battery pack and a freemium SaaS tool to monitor battery health and manage vehicle life cycles.

The Bengaluru-based startup, which primarily focuses on electric two-wheelers in India, has already secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from investors such as LetsVenture, Sia Angels, and We Founder Circle, along with other marquee angel investors.

What’s All The Startup’s EV Treasure Trove?

According to a RedSeer report, more than 60% of users of EV two-wheelers face issues such as slow charging times and a lack of charging infrastructure.

To solve the current challenge, the chief product officer and cofounder of The Energy Company, Prashant Rathee, told Inc42 that the startup has developed an EV energy product portfolio, which can be divided into two categories, a fast-charging battery pack and a SaaS product to monitor battery health and manage vehicle life cycle. 

Per the cofounder, The Energy Company’s two solutions solve the most common problems two-wheeler EV users face – slow charging time, a lack of charging infrastructure, battery life and safety. 

According to Rathee, their battery pack, FlexiPack, is scalable across electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses and helps vehicles run for 50 km on just a 15-minute fast charge and 100 km after a 40-minute charge. He added that it can be charged across all charging infrastructure due to its nature of being charger agnostic.

EV adoption across vehicle aggregators is being mandated by state governments across India. Since India’s public charging infrastructure is still in its nascent stages, a charger-agnostic battery might help make EVs more efficient for B2B use.

Speaking on battery life, the cofounder pointed out that the longest life cycle of a battery in a commercial EV is around 2-2.5 years. “So, it is a cost that is incurred after every two years by the EV user,” the cofounder added.

Rathee claimed that the startup’s FlexiPack solution comes with a minimum life cycle of four years, double the industry standard. 

Meanwhile, The Energy company’s SaaS tool, FlexiTwin, takes inputs from the sensors installed on a battery to digitally record the battery performance, degradation and service history, with insights on battery health and ageing.

Further, the startup also buys back batteries that are near the end of their life cycles from users to recycle.

Charged Up For The Future Yet?

As of now, the startup is in talks with five B2B clients, which have around 25,000 two-wheeler EVs. The startup also has letters of intent (LOIs) for around 2,000 electric two-wheelers, which, Rathee said, translates to INR 10 Cr in revenue by March 2024.

When asked whether the startup was also looking at the B2C segment as well, the cofounder said, “We feel that there are enough vehicle manufacturers out there who will eventually integrate our solution.”

Speaking more about the startup’s target market, Rathee said the company is not targeting high-end smart vehicle OEMs, such as vehicles manufactured by Ola Electric and Ather, but the likes of Hero Electric and Okinawa, which are not into making premium EVs.

“What we want to do is enable electric mobility through these manufacturers. We would like to become the Intel or the Bosch of the space,” Rathee said.

The Energy Company competes with the likes of Log9 Materials, which is also manufacturing long-life EV batteries using graphene and other new-age materials, and Exponent Energy, which improves charging speeds and battery life cycle.

According to a research report by MarketsandMarkets, the Indian EV battery market stood at $56.4 Bn in 2022 and is set to expand by 19.9% CAGR to $134.6 Bn by 2027.

Given that 80% of all two-wheelers in India will be electric by 2030, per RedSeer, The Energy Company has a vast sea of opportunities in front of it. However, the startup still has a long way to go in addressing the challenges in India’s EV space. Therefore, it would be interesting to see how The Energy Company contributes to the rapidly growing EV adoption in India.

The post How The Energy Company’s Full-Stack Battery Solutions Are Powering India’s EV Future appeared first on Inc42 Media.

While the use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is on a sharp rise across the world, with the growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) and increased usage of electronic devices, there is still no robust and economically viable process to recycle such batteries. 

As the world today talks about reaching net zero emission goals, with EVs paving the way for their future aspirations, global studies suggest that 95% of Li-ion batteries end up in landfills and become an environmental hazard. 

This very challenge raises a big question about the progressive steps towards a sustainable carbon-emissions-free future. Interestingly, while many are only talking about the much-desired green future, Karnataka-based startup Metastable Materials claims to have walked the talk with its integrated carbothermal reduction process technology in the Li-ion battery recycling space.

Founded by IIT Roorkee alumni Shubham Vishvakarma, Saurav Goyal, and Manikumar Uppala in 2021, Metastable Materials claims to be able to extract 90% of materials from Li-ion batteries, including plastics, with the use of its technology, which is yet to be patented.

The founders of Metastable Materials told Inc42 that they have developed ‘the world’s first chemical-free integrated carbothermal reduction process’ for recycling and extracting materials, such as copper, aluminium, cobalt, nickel, and lithium, from Li-ion batteries. 

The process has already been tested at the industrial level, and the technology, if scaled up, can help India and other countries in the Li-ion battery recycling space.

Metastable Materials competes with companies like Lohum, Attero, and ACE Green Recycling in the Li-ion battery recycling space in India. 

According to a JMK Research report, the segment, which stood at 2.9 gigawatt-hour (GWh) in 2018, is expected to reach a size of 132 GWh by 2030.

Breaking Down Li-ion Batteries For Industrial Use

Apart from lithium, Li-ion batteries comprise cobalt, nickel, bauxite, manganese, aluminium, and natural graphite,

As of today, two main Li-ion recycling processes have found their way into industrial usage globally – hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy. There is very low recovery efficiency in pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy comes with higher material costs and a lot of complexity.

While many technologies are being tested globally, not many have found their way into industrial usage so far. 

Speaking with Inc42, Vishvakarma said that Metastable Materials has developed a one-of-its-kind mechanism to make the Li-ion battery extraction process more economical and efficient. 

He claimed that the materials extracted in the process are decently pure and not altered, which is sharply in contrast with the two other widely used methodologies across the world. 

The seed of this technology was sown when Vishvakarma was still in his college. He said that the science behind it was worked upon during the final years of his college, but Metastable Materials made the process ready for industrial use in the last one and a half years only.

Besides being able to ensure more sustainability by recycling EV batteries, which can be potentially harmful if dumped in landfills year after year, the startup has taken a 360-degree approach to cleantech. 

After extracting the materials from Li-ion batteries, Metastable Materials looks at giving them back to battery manufacturers and other industries.

“If we look at the typical journey of recycling, the idea is to make new batteries out of old ones. That’s how a typical circular economy works. We believe that’s an outdated idea. Our focus is not on making new batteries out of the old ones,” said Vishvakarma, adding that the materials extracted from Li-ion batteries can be used in various industrial applications.

A Li-ion battery comprises 2% lithium and 98% other metals and minerals. Metastable Materials’ technology aims to extract all materials from batteries in their commodity form and supply those raw materials to different industries as per their respective requirements. 

For instance, lithium is used in lubricants, so it can go to lubricant manufacturers. Similarly, nickel is used in making stainless steel. 

Ready To Recycle Yet?

Metastable Materials was part of the eighth cohort of Sequoia Capital’s accelerator programme, Surge. Recently, it was able to raise Seed funding from Surge as well as other climatetech, deeptech venture capitalists like Speciale Invest and Theia Ventures.

Angels like Akshay Singhal and Kartik Hajela of Log9 Materials, and cofounder of fwdSlash Capital Archana Priyadershini also participated in the round.

While the startup has not disclosed the funding amount, the founders said the funds will be used to make the cleantech’s urban mining facility production-ready. Metastable Materials is setting up a 21,000 sq ft battery recycling facility in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. It has almost completed all its R&D processes. 

Vishvakarma said that the startup is in talks with multiple companies to procure scrapped batteries and sell the extracted materials. 

“Since we are now setting up the facility, we haven’t gotten into any formal agreements,” said  Metastable Materials’ cofounder and COO Saurav Goyal. 

Besides, the startup has already filed for a patent for its technology, which is expected to take a few years before it gets approved. 

Meanwhile, EVs are on a rise in the country, leading to an increased number of batteries, and hence, more demand for lithium. But the country has to largely depend on countries like China for the import of the metal, as India is yet to establish itself as a lithium producer. 

However, industry experts, including Vishvakarma and Goyal, opine that if India can extract lithium from used batteries, the country can build its urban mine and reduce its dependence on importing the new ‘white gold’.

The post Metastable Materials: Meet The Scavengers Of Dead Li-ion Batteries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Mumbai-based electric mobility startup Magenta Mobility on Wednesday (April 5) announced that it has raised $22 Mn (about INR 180.6 Cr) in its Series A1 funding round from UK-based energy major bp and Morgan Stanley India infrastructure.

Speaking with Inc42, the founder and managing director of Magenta Mobility said that the startup is planning to use the fresh funds to increase its fleet of vehicles, penetrate more cities across the country, and strengthen its overall tech stack.

“This investment is largely for three buckets, the first being scaling up – we have the mandate to have 4,000 vehicles deployed by this financial year. The second is investment into R&D and technology – we have always believed that you cannot copy-paste international solutions into India,” said Lewis, adding that the company was also looking to get into eight new cities, including Pune and Chennai, in FY24.

With around 800 three-wheeler EV cargo vehicles, the EV startup has its presence in seven Indian cities, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai. 

Magenta Mobility sources its three-wheeler EVs from Piaggio, Altigreen Propulsion Labs, Euler Motors, and Mahindra.

Founded in 2018 as a charging solution provider for EVs by Lewis, Magenta Mobility gradually shifted its focus on providing vehicle fleets for the logistics and last-mile delivery needs of various ecommerce companies. 

Currently, the startup works with companies like Amazon and Flipkart. Magenta Mobility is looking to join hands with more companies in segments such as pharmaceuticals, FMCG, and logistics.

While Magenta Mobility still functions as an EV charging solution provider, with 35 existing charging depots and more being deployed, its charging stations largely cater to the needs of its fleets. 

The startup recently opened its largest EV charging depot in Bengaluru last month. Lewis said that the partnership with Jio bp, which is part of bp’s joint venture with Reliance, will enable Magenta Mobility to deploy charging points at Jio bp’s mobility stations.

“Decarbonising the last mile is increasingly important in India as the ecommerce market is expected to grow fourfold by 2030, which will require the deployment of huge numbers of new vehicles this decade. With the Indian government setting an ambitious 2030 target for the complete transition to EVs for ecommerce, delivery, and transport logistics service providers, Magenta Mobility through its operations will help decarbonise Indian cities while helping meet demand in the fast-growing ecommerce delivery industry,” said Sashi Mukundan, president of bp India and senior vice-president at bp.

Magenta Mobility has grown its revenue 5X year-on-year since its inception, said Lewis. The startup is aiming at an 8X growth in its topline this financial year, with backing from the likes of bp and Morgan Stanley.

Also backed by the likes of HPCL, and JITO Angel Network, the startup has raised around INR 300 Cr so far. In 2021, it raised $15 Mn (INR 120 Cr) in a Series A funding round.

It must be noted that India’s burgeoning EV market is led by two main vehicle categories – two-wheelers and three-wheelers. While two-wheelers are finding adoption, both for personal and last-mile delivery purposes, the growing need for ecommerce and other online deliveries is increasingly leading to more three-wheeler penetration in the market.

Last month, CHARGE+ZONE, Magenta Mobility’s competitor in the charging infrastructure segment, raised $54 Mn in a Series A1 funding round.

The post EV Startup Magenta Mobility Raises $22 Mn From bp, Morgan Stanley To Increase Fleet Count appeared first on Inc42 Media.