Green Business Podcast: Recent Episodes
bharti krishnan
Ever wondered why even though we manufacture electric scooters and cars right here in India, we end up importing their electronic powertrain components? Well, there's a fascinating reason behind it. You see, the heart of these vehicles, the motor controllers, often relies on imported semiconductors and PCBs. It's this aspect that sometimes makes it challenging for our Indian products to go head-to-head with their imported counterparts. But is this the absolute truth? Maybe not.
In today's episode, I had the opportunity to chat with Bala from Anuvega Powertronics (https://apowertronics.com/), who is flipping the script. While the notion might be that Indian companies can't stand their ground against imported motor controllers, Bala is betting on a different outcome, especially in the mid-range market. He's targeting applications in light commercial vehicles, passenger cars, and even electric vehicles in mining and material handling.
What fuels his confidence? Well, it's the legacy behind Anuvega Powertronics. Their parent company, Anuvega Technology, boasts a six-year journey of supplying motor controllers for defense and missile applications. Bala's point is intriguing: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) might just prefer a domestic partner who can fine-tune controllers to perfectly fit Indian conditions.
Now, don't get me wrong—it's a tad early to predict if his crystal ball will be accurate. Their product is still in the process of being crafted and rigorously tested. But let me tell you, delving into the world of motor controllers during our conversation was an absolute blast. We dived into some captivating topics, including:
- market potential for high-end motor controllers.
- How these controllers square up against their imported rivals in terms of competitiveness.
- The remarkable advantages that come hand-in-hand with a business legacy.
Meet Shubham Singh from CRASTE (https://craste.co/), a company that turns rice straw into beer cartons and furniture! Who knew that something usually burned in the fields could become so useful? With his expertise in chemical engineering and his sister's unwavering support (because let's face it, who else would put up with his crazy ideas?), Shubham has turned agriculture waste into something way more exciting than just compost. Craste's proprietary technology removes the silica that prevents rice straw pulp from being used in a variety of applications, creating a huge opportunity to create value-added products.
It took Shubham nearly four years and some grant money to set up a pilot factory where he is building value-added products for furniture and packaging applications., These products have been used by companies such as Ikea and Nestle. Shubham and I had a fascinating conversation about the following
1. Origin story of Craste
2. How CRASTE rewards farmers for not burning their crops
3. Building differentiated products
4. Writing a winning grant proposal
Air conditioners are notorious for being power hogs. And, while IOT is well-known for providing analytics about power wastage, it usually requires someone on the ground to control the AC to reduce power bills.
Rohit from Zodhya is combining IOT, AI, and good old hardware to create a suite of products that eliminate the need for manual intervention to bring in energy savings. Its first product is an AI- based air conditioning control device that can be installed on any AC and reduces the unit's electricity consumption by up to 40%.
Rohit founded Zodhya in 2017 with his friends Sharath and Aditya, shortly after graduating from IIT Madras. They iterated for four years before commercialising their product in 2020. The company has completed more than 20 implementations in offices, supermarkets, and hospitals and are now looking to grow rapidly. We had a fascinating conversation about
1. Journey of Zodhya from an automation service provider to a product company
2. Using AI to reduce manual interventions to save energy
3. Challenges of scaling up
4. Fund raising at seed stage
Do listen and share your feedback.
In this episode we have Vikash kumar Jha , co founder of Rukart Technologies (https://www.rukart.org/) which provides sustainable cooling solutions for small holder farmers. Rukart’s flagship product is a subzee cooler, that can keep vegetables fresh for up to a week, without needing any electricity or even solar power.
Vikash founded Rukart immediately after finishing his MTech at IIT Mumbai in 2016. IIT Mumbai also gave him a grant to develop green innovations for small farmers, which led to the creation of the first prototype of the Subjee cooler. Since then, the Subjee cooler has gone through several iterations and is now used by over 800 farmers and vegetable shops. We cover the following:
1. How Vikash and Sharayu founded Rukart
2. Why community cold storage solutions don’t work for small farmers
3. Different use cases of Subjee cooler
4. Unit economics of Subjee cooler and Rukart’s marketing strategy
5. Rukart’s growth plans
Many of us who live in apartments are not able to access solar power, as we have limited roof space to install solar panels. Samuel Mathew from SundayGrids enables us to buy a portion of a solar power plant from anywhere in India and use it to lower our power bills.
Mathew along with his friends Naseer and Tarun started SundayGrids, in 2020 by setting up a pilot project of 5 kilowatts which was subscribed to by 45 customers. The project has been running for 2. years and SundayGrids is now looking to scale.
While fractional asset ownership is gaining popularity, with several startups facilitating access to this new investment class, SundayGrids stand out, due to the simplicity of its offering; the promise of lower power bills through solar.
Mathew and I had an interesting conversation about
1. How he and his friends founded Sunday Grids
2. Business model of SundayGrids
3. Regulations governing digital solar
4. Opportunities and challenges for scaling SundayGrids
An electric scooter typically takes up to 5 hours to fully charge. Ergon Labs' Ashwin hopes to reduce the charging time to just one hour, all without the use of any fast-charging infrastructure. Ergon chargers are built into the scooter and work with our regular 15 ampere socket that we use at home. Ashwin believes that his technology will make EV scooters more affordable because quick and easy charging will reduce range anxiety and battery size.
Ashwin studied mechanical engineering at NITK Surathkal, then he worked at Rimac Automobili in Croatia where he was part of the team that built the fastest electric car in the world. He returned to India in 2019. and that’s when ergon was born.
1. How Ashvin founded Ergon chargers
2. Motivations for OEMs to integrate Ergon chargers with their scooters
3. Use cases for fast charging solutions for electric scooters
4. Battery swapping and fast charging
5. Can electric scooters be made cheaper, by reducing the battery size and enabling easy fast charging
Did you wear kolhapuri chappals along with Kurta pyjama for Diwali celebrations? I bet you already put your chappals away until the next Diwali. Indian ethnic footwear is only worn on special occasions because it is uncomfortable, and can’t withstand daily grind. Lakshya Arora from DesiHangover (https://www.desihangover.in/) is on a mission to reinvent ethnic footwear, make it durable, fashionable and environment friendly.
Lakshya and his cofounders started the company in 2014, with a dream to create a product that marries our traditional art forms with fashion and can be worn at Times square. And they have made some progress, Desis now come in 50 designs, are sold in India, Malaysia, Singapore and US and support 150 artisans.
Lakshya and I had an interesting conversation about
· How Lakshya and his co-founders Abha and Hitesh started DesiHangover
· The sustainability of leather shoes
· How Desi- hangover is creating a brand and winning over customers
· How to successfully sell a handcrafted premium footwear online
CSR and ESG were once used interchangeably, and mostly referred to programmes for underserved communities (for example- water coolers in village schools). This information was typically kept in excel spreadsheets and was reviewed near reporting deadlines. However, net zero pledges are changing ESG reporting. Organizations must now continuously measure their carbon footprints because regulators, investors, suppliers, as well as millennial customers, want to know their green credentials. It's no surprise that ESG tech is a growing opportunity, with investors across the world queuing up to invest in ESG tech companies.
My guest today is Satish Ramchandani, co-founder of Updapt, which is hoping to capitalise on the growing ESG tech opportunity. Updapt seems to have right founding team; Satish is a chartered accountant who spent over 7 years at CRISIL heading business development for SME and CSR rating solutions, so he knows a thing or two about enterprise sales. Mithun, his cofounder, is an ESG expert and former Thompson Reuters ESG analyst. The company is funded by CIIE Accenture Ventures, has 50 employees, and currently serves over 40 clients in India and around the world.
We had a fascinating conversation about the following
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How Satish started Updapt
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ESG tech market opportunity
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Complexity of measuring carbon emissions
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Entry barriers and competition from ERP/other software solution providers
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Choosing right ESG reporting software
People usually squirm or reach for pest control when they hear the word "insect."
However, insects are food for birds and chickens and it seems they are their favourite food, just as Mango is for many of us. Since animals are now commercially farmed, and have no access to natural food such as insects, they must eat man made feed. Consider exchanging Mango for some diet food.
Loopworm’s Ankit Bhagria is trying to restore natural order by enabling insect-based feed for animals and saving land and forest that are used to produce conventional feeds. Since insects love food waste (which is why cockroaches infest kitchens), Loopworm is also able to redirect food waste from landfills to feed it to insects.
Ankit founded Loopworm along with his classmate Abhi, right after his engineering at IIT Roorkee. Loopworm farms Black soldier Fly (BSF), which is then processed to make poultry and pig feed. It has recently raised its seed round to start commercial scale operations. Ankit and I had a very interesting conversation about
1. How Ankit Started Loopworm
2. Why is insect farming more environment friendly than Soya and other conventional feeds
3. insect-based feed’s competitiveness vis a vis conventional feed
4. Loop worms’ business model & its plan to scale up
5. Hacks for raising capital for a social start up
Are green fuels truly green? For example, rice husk, a popular biomass-based fuel, produces lot of ash when burned. This ash can pollute the air, defeating the purpose of using a green fuel. Disposal of rice husk ash is a big issue for biomass-based power plants.
Tanmay Pandya, founder of BRISIL technologies uses this ash to create Silica, a widely used material. World consumes 5 billion dollars’ worth of Silica every year. There is far too much silica in our lives, from salt to cosmetics and even tyres. Silica is typically made from sand, but sand mining is increasingly getting banned as you and I need sand for our beaches.
Tanmay studied chemical engineering at IIT BHU, and was interested in developing clean technology solutions for manufacturing industries. A chance meeting with biomass power plant operators, helped him understand the problem of disposal of rice husk ash, leading him to start BRISIL.
Tanmay and I had a very interesting conversation about
1. Pollution caused by green fuels such as rice husk
2. Market opportunity for green Silica
3. Competitiveness of green Silica versus conventional Silica
4. Scaling up BRISIL
What happens when a meat-lover marries a vegetarian? They eat plant-based meat and later launch a plant-based meat company.
My guest today is Roma Roy Choudhury from Evolved foods. She discovered plant-based meat in Singapore while looking for food that she and her pucca vegetarian husband Pradeep could both enjoy. When they returned to India, they could not find such options, and decided to create them on their own.
Plant-based meat is a new category that is trying to make a name for itself. The challenges are numerous, ranging from making the product look and taste like meat to educating customers on why it is a good substitute for meat while remaining cost effective.
Roma and I had a fascinating discussion about the following:
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Similarities and differences between plant-based meat and real meat
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What makes plant-based meat environmentally friendly?
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The product development process and the unique selling point of evolved foods
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Establishing a new product category
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Sales cycle of a plant-based meat start-up
When we catch cold or feel ill, doctors prescribe anti-oxidants to boost our immune system. I'm sure many of us got our fill of these during covid. What if fruits and vegetables could boost their immune systems and stay fresh without refrigeration?
My guest is Deepak from Green Pod Labs (https://greenpodlabs.com/), which is attempting to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by using biotechnology-driven solutions that keep fruits fresh at room temperature, reducing the need for cold storage. His solution could transform the Indian horticulture sector, where 30 percent of produce spoils due to a lack of affordable cold storage. We discuss the following topics in this episode:
1. Technology behind Green Pods’ solutions
2. Market potential
3. Product development process and regulatory environment
4. Green Pods plans to scale
The future is electric and we want to be part of it. However, with electric scooters priced at around 1 lakh Rupees, buying a new electric scooter is expensive for many people. Further, they can’t let their good old Activas stay idle. Is there a way to get these existing workhorses onto the electric bandwagon?
In this episode, I speak with Ravikumar from Starya mobility, which is building a propulsion kit to convert any gearless ICE scooter into an electric scooter. Their retrofit kit is indigenously designed, ARAI approved, and is available for trials in Bangalore.
There are more than 60 million conventional scooters on Indian roads and retrofitting these could potentially be an enormous opportunity. However, running petrol powered engines on battery is technically complex (akin to a heart transplant)) and there is no government subsidy on retrofitted electric vehicles. As a result, many start-ups retrofit service providers (primarily for commercial vehicles) have pivoted to manufacturing new electric vehicles.
Can retro fitment work in two wheelers? Ravi and I have an exciting conversation about the following:
- The market opportunity for retrofits
- Performance and safety aspects of Retrofit scooters
- Competitive advantages of Starya
- Business model and go to market strategy
Vinay Chataraju is co-founder of Kritsnam technologies (https://kritsnam.com/), which provides digital solutions to measure and save water. Their IOT enabled water flow meters and software solutions enable industries to track & reduce their water consumption, thus eliminate water risk.
Vinay studied civil engineering at IIT Kanpur, he then worked in a number of startups for over 10 years before joining Kritsnam team in 2019. He heads business development and is credited with on boarding several corporate clients such as Adani airports., Hero future energies
Kritsnam has around 1,000 IoT sensors on field measuring various surface and pipe water flows across the country. The sensors have measured more than 10Bn liters of water in the last two years.
In this episode we spoke about the following:
- Vinay’s journey of building Kritsnam
- The market opportunity for smart water technologies
- Building differentiated solutions
- Fundraising for IoT startups
Have you heard of jeans made from banana and pineapple waste? Most likely not. While the agri waste-based fibres have been around for decades, it has remained a cottage industry, as these fibres can’t be mass produced in spinning machines and such fabric doesn’t have smooth texture.
Excited to share a new episode, where I speak with Shreyans Kokra, founder of Canvaloop fibre (https://www.canvaloop.com/collections/al), which is transforming agri waste into fibres that can be spun in machines, and produce soft fabric.
Shreyans grew up in Surat, the textile hub of India, where his family owned a textile mill. He studied entrepreneurship at Babson Graduate school of business, USA and it was during his business school days that he thought of creating sustainable textiles. Later in 2017, on his return to India, Canvaloop was formally incorporated. Its fibres are sold to several international brands including Levi’s and GAP. Additionally, Canvaloop also offers its brand of sustainable jeans under the name “Slow Jeans” We talk about the following
1. Why do we need sustainable fibres?
2. The market opportunity for sustainable fibres
3. Unique strengths of Canvaloop
4. Timeless Fashion through sustainable clothing
India is endowed with abundant agriculture and agri based fuels present a huge opportunity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. However, this sector largely remains unorganized, due to challenges related to unreliable quality and availability of such fuel.
My guest today is Ashvin Patil, founder of biofuels junction (https://biofuelsjunction.com/) that is building reliable supply chain for biofuels and helping large corporates such as Hindustan Lever, Marico, Thermax substitute their fossil fuels with agrifuels. The company supports small businesses in setting up biofuel manufacturing facilities and aggregates such fuel supplies to meet the energy needs of its clients,
Ashwin and his co-founder Chaitanya spent nearly 15 years in Investment Banking, Equities and strategy at ICICI Group, Merrill Lynch, and Tata group before starting the company in 2017.
Ashvin and I talk about the following
1. His transition from financial services to Biofuels
2. Biofuels and their climate impact
3. Building a robust supply chain
4. Scaling the business via bootstrapping
My guest today is Roshan Miranda from Bintix (https://bintix.com/), a data analytics platform that helps brands get insights on consumption pattern of their products through analysis of household waste.
Roshan is a biotechnologist, with a PhD in biology and genetics from Baylor college of medicine in Texas. He returned to India in 2015 to start waste ventures, a waste mgmt. company. While at waste ventures, Roshan saw the challenges in selling the waste, as majority of waste was FMCG waste such as chips wrappers/chocolate boxes, which do not fetch good value. He also saw that waste had a lot of information on what people were buying and consuming. So, he thought of extracting consumption related insights from waste to create additional revenue stream.
Bintix is present in 7 cities, it sources waste from 20,000 households and works with a number of FMCG companies in helping them understand their consumers.
By monetizing FMCG waste, Roshan is creating profitable/viable business model for waste management industry, thus enabling livelihood for thousands of waste collectors. We talk about the following
1. Roshans journey into waste management
2. Why do we have very few startups in waste management?
3. What can brands learn about consumers though household waste?
4. Challenges of scaling Bintix
My guest today is Anant Jain from Accelero Vehcles (https://ebik.in/about.html) which is enabling affordable electric mobility by helping people convert their bicycles into electric cycles.
India sells nearly 1 crore (10 mn) bicycles per year and 60 per cent of these are black cycles (also called Roadster cycles), typically used by people for their commute to work or as a means of earning livelihood. Given the hot Indian weather- that makes it difficult to peddle, Roadster users see a lot of value in an electric cycle.
Accelero is hoping to capture this market through e bike smart, a conversion kit that converts a Roadster bicycle to an ebike within minutes. For those, interested in buying a new cycle, it also offers competitively priced electric cycles.
Anant worked in the energy sector for nearly 10 years before starting Accelero in 2017. He spent next three years in product development, before launching the product in 2020. In this episode, Anant and I talk about the following
1. Market opportunity for ebikes and conversion kits
2. Competitive landscape and Accelero's value proposition
3. Charging infrastructure
4. Govt policies for electric cycles
India has a huge deficit of green fodder (market size $3.2 bn) with supply being 25% less than demand. Hydroponics, an environmentally controlled and water efficient way of growing farm produce is very well suited to cultivate greens However capital costs are prohibitive and have deterred famers from adopting Hydroponic farming.
My guest today is Vasanth Kamath from Hydrogreens, which is solving this issue via providing Fodder – as- service (FAAS). Vasanth is solving for the entire supply chain of fodder including enabling quality seeds, good cultivation practices, data driven advisory and support in selling the produce.
In this episode, we talk about
1. Market opportunity for green fodder
2. Unique strengths of Hydrogreen’s solutions
3. Business model
4. Hydroponic versus conventional farming-climate benefits
Dr. Pardeep Garg is co-founder of Uravu labs (https://www.uravulabs.com/) a deep tech startup focused on renewable water. Uravu is developing a solar device to source safe drinking water from the air.
Pardeep is chief Technology officer at Uravu and has played a key role in transitioning Uravu from conventional energy-intensive technology to solar driven and energy efficient solution. Pardeep is an expert in new energy systems, he holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of science and was also a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
We discuss the following in this episode
1. Uravu’s product development journey
2. Product differentiation vis a vis other Indian and global players
3. Unit economics and market opportunity for renewable water
4. Scaling up a Deep-tech startup
Rohit Grover is founder of Aerostrovilos Energy (http://www.aerostrovilos.com/) which is building technology for electrification of long-haul trucks. Such trucks account for nearly 30% of carbon emissions of transport sector and currently there are no viable solutions for reducing their carbon footprints. Aerostrovilos is looking to disrupt the sector through its micro turbines that convert clean fuels such as Hydrogen/natural gas into electricity, which is then used to run the truck.
As they say, Deeptech requires significantly longer amount of time and patience for product development. For Rohit, it has already been a 7-year journey since he started working on microturbine project in 2014, as part of his aerospace engineering course at IIT Madras and it could easily take another 3 years for the product to be available commercially.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
1. Why electrification of trucks is a challenge
2. Market opportunity for green trucking
3. Competitive advantages of Aerostrovilas’ technology
4. Surviving and staying focused through the long product development cycle
Venu Polineni is founder of Telluris biotech. Telluris offers bio-based crop protection and plant growth products that replace chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Telluris is powered by its strong team with more 100 years of research and scientific expertise, that has enabled it to get multiple patents on its products. Venu did his masters in bioscience at University of California and worked there as a Research Associate for four years before moving back to India to start Telluris.
In this podcast, we discuss:
1. Market landscape for Biobased products
2. Competitive advantages of Telluris
3. Changing regulatory landscape for Bio-based products
4. Raising capital for a Deep tech startup
Ankit Mittal is co-founder of Sheru (https://sheru.se/). Sheru is a battery swapping network that allows electric autorickshaw drivers to swap batteries and pay for it as they use it, instead of having to purchase it. Since Sheru drivers don’t have to invest in batteries or wait hours for charging, they can be more productive and earn more. Sheru’s driver currently cover almost 15,000 kms per day and are growing by 50 per cent month on month.
Ankit holds an engineering degree from the BITS- Pilani, where he also met his co-founders-Shikhar and Nakul. All three of them were also colleagues at Grey Orange, where their friendship deepened and they decided to plunge into entrepreneurship.
We talk about:
1. Battery as an asset- Improving asset productivity
2. Battery swapping versus charging
3. Unit economics of swapping for drivers and Sheru
4. Sheru’s growth plans
Dr. Sivaram Pillai is co-founder of Proklean technologies (https://proklean.in/). Proklean delivers sustainable biodegradable products for industrial applications in textile, leather, paper and home cleaning industries and its customers include marquee names like Arvind mills, TNPL, Raymond and ITC.
Dr. Sivaram has a PHD in Biochemistry and worked for more than 3 decades, including as CEO of EID parry before starting on his own. Proklean was born in 2012, with an objective of manufacturing green products that deliver more than the traditional chemical products. Over the years, it has expanded its product portfolio, raised several rounds of capital and has built a strong team of over 70 people.
Dr. Medha Tadpatrikar, co founder of Rudra environment (https://rudraenvsolution.com/).
Rudra offers a unique solution to tackle non-recyclable plastic waste such as chips wrappers, chocolate covers etc by converting it back to oil, which is used as a fuel in many industries.
Medha and her co-founder Shirish learnt plastic recycling from the grounds up, by heating plastics in the pressure cooker in their kitchen. It took them seven years to commercialize their innovation. We talk about
1. Plastic to oil technology- risks and advantages
2. Managing costs and staying profitable
3. Raising capital
4. Pursuing your dreams
Dr. Rashi Gupta is founder of Vision Mechatronics. Vision Mechatronics manufacturers Lithium-Ion battery packs and the plug and play energy storage systems for commercial and industrial applications.
Dr. Rashi started working with Lithium-Ion batteries way back in 2016. Given her long association with batteries, she is also referred to as “Batterywali” in the industry. We talk about
1. Evolution of energy storage business in India
2. Stationery and mobile energy storage market
3. Battery chemistry and performance
4. Battery recycling
Hope you enjoy this conversation.
Victor Lesniewski is COO of Khethworks, that is empowering small farmers with its affordable and very efficient micro solar pumps. In India, where the adoption of solar pumps has been driven by government programs/subsidies, Khetworks is building a new category of solar pumps that are cost-effective and do not need subsidies.
Victor and his colleague Katie, who were graduate students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. relocated to India in 2016, to start Khethworks. In this episode, we talk about
- Building high-quality products
- Sustainable and scalable business models
- End-user financing of solar pumps
- Prioritizing right tasks
Rahul Dev Mandal is the founder of Nebeskie labs, which is helping companies cut their power bills. Nebeskie stands for galaxy of stars, reflecting Rahul’s vision of building a network of connected devices that can provide useful insights on machine productivity and save costs.
Unlike many IOT companies that serve specific industry segments such as factories, commercial buildings and reach clients directly, Nebeskie wants to be domain agnostic and is looking to tap into vast network of energy auditors and system integrators to reach its clients.
Can Rahul scale up Nebeskie labs, lets find out
Achitra Borgohain is founder of Binbag Recycling, which is solving the problem of e-waste, through its-market place Cycloza. Achitra learnt the harsh ground realities of the recycling business by being a recycler himself - while India generates 3 mn tones of e-waste, less than 10% is formally processed because recyclers don’t find it profitable.
Based on his on-the-field insights, Achitra built-up Cycloza as an e-waste market place and ERP solution for recyclers to facilitate their businesses and improve profitability.
Achitra narrates his journey of being a e-waste recycler and of building an e-waste market place,
Sanjay is co-founder of Banka BioLoo. Banka BioLoo is a biotechnology-based, affordable, onsite sanitation system that is widely used in train toilets, construction sites, schools and many other places. Its clients include Indian Railways, L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji and Government of Telangana.
Sanjay started his career as a research analyst with Reuters and Global Data. While he had a full-time day job, he supported his wife Namita’s sanitation start-up in the evenings and on weekends. After a couple of years of managing two shifts, Sanjay quit his day job and became a full-time founder. He then led the company to its IPO and in 2018, Banka BioLoo got listed on SME stock exchange.
Sanjay talks about journey of scaling up Banka bioloo and the virtues of patience and discipline in fund raising,
Ganesh Shankar is the founder of FluxGen technologies that provides IOT enabled water platform for companies to help them reduce their water consumption by up to 30%. FluxGen solutions are used by over 30 corporates including Britannia industries, Titan Jewelry and GKNM hospital, Coimbatore.
Ganesh shares following insights
1. Manufacturing industries are very dependent on water, for example a bar of 100 gm chocolate consumes 10 bathtubs of water
2. True cost of water for industries could be more than the 10 times the price of water, as it includes the cost of electricity, chemicals that are used along with water
3. SEBI now requires top 1000 listed companies to disclose their water usage
Decreasing availability of water and increasing governance on water usage are creating a compelling case for rapid adoption of tech enabled water management solution. Can FluxGen take advantage of this unique market opportunity? Let’s find out.
Like most biotechnologists Vanita was on her way to pursue a career in life sciences, when a chance visit to a slum helped her realize that unhygienic living conditions were the cause of most diseases and improving waste management systems could address many health-related problems. She then changed the topic of her doctoral thesis to waste management & developed a patent on creating hydrogen (fuel) from waste.
Vanita is now founder of REVY environmental solutions, that supplies bio cultures to improve the efficiency and profitability of waste management companies. Over the last 5 years, Vanita has helped revive many non-operational wastes to energy plants and also inspired many women to consider waste management as a career option.
In this episode of Green Business Podcast, Vanita talks about her experience of scaling up Revy.
If there is one thing the ongoing pandemic has taught us, it is the importance of open air and ventilation. Now, how do we keep our homes/offices ventilated while retaining their coolness, saving the environment and money?
Our guest, Madhusudan Rapole from Oorja energy has figured out a way to do just this, by offering sustainable cooling solutions that work effectively in open spaces and also cut down utility bills. Oorja offers radiant and geothermal cooling solutions, that could supplant the need for costly air conditioning. Over the last decade, Oorja has deployed these solutions across all types of buildings including libraries, offices, warehouses and military barracks.
In this episode of Green Business Podcast, Madhu narrates his experience of scaling up Oorja energy.
Biogas is a very useful technology for farmers as it allows them to generate fuel and electricity from their cattle waste. However, its adoption among Indian farmers has been very poor, with less than 15% per cent of 45 mn* dairy farmers using it, despite numerous government programs and subsidies.
In this episode we speak to Piyush Sohani, who heads India operations of Sistema bio, a global social enterprise that is trying to disrupt the way biogas is sold in India. Piyush talks about the following:
1. Why do farmers not trust Biogas technology?
2. How are Indian farmers different from farmers in other countries?
3. How is Sistema changing the game with product innovation and go to market strategy?
4. What are the growth drivers for biogas market in India?
· Estimated that nearly 50% of 100 mn farmers in India have at least 2 cattle.
The ongoing pandemic has taken a huge toll not only on lives but also on livelihoods…
Empowering small businesses is the most powerful way of rebuilding livelihoods and what better way than building livelihoods in a climate-friendly way.
Our guest today, Tushar from DD Solar, is doing just that by empowering micro entrepreneurs with his solar cooling solutions. His solar fridge allows street vendors such as flower sellers, sugarcane vendors to keep their products fresh longer, thus boosting their incomes.
In this episode Tushar narrates his journey to exploit the market opportunity for solar cooling solutions.
Does your apartment complex use solar power for its needs? most likely not. Solar panels can significantly reduce power bills for residential apartment complexes, and yet, this segment remains largely untapped by the mainstream solar industry.
Our guest today is trying to do just that - enable residential apartment complexes to harness solar power. In this episode Sarvesh Shetye from PeriUrja Energy talks about this solar opportunity in gated communities and the future of distributed renewable energy.
Single use plastic cutlery is hard to replace, due to lack of availability of alternative products. But this hypothesis is exactly what Manigandan from Evlogia eco care is trying to change through his high quality organic cutlery products that are sold worldwide.
In this episode of Green business podcast, Manigandan talks about the growing market for single use cutlery in the wake of covid. building a profitable business and learning from failures.
Vikas is the founder of Transwater systems, which offers solutions to treat waste water so that it could be reused. He works with apartment complexes, IT parks and industries to help them convert their waste water into high quality water. Vikas talks about opportunity in waste water recycling , water as service business model and his passion for saving water.
D.B Prabhu is the founder of Respose Waste Management and Research Pvt Ltd, Respose stands for Responsible disposal and is India’s largest manufacturer of e-waste recycling machines. In this episode, Prabhu talks about e-waste recycling opportunity, need for conducive eco system for developing e waste recycling industry and surviving covid-19.
Green businesses are on the rise as many entrepreneurs decide to tackle climate change through their solutions in waste management, water conservation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and so on. This podcast celebrates climate entrepreneurs and digs deeper to understand the opportunities and challenges of scaling such businesses.