Indian startups devise solutions to combat pollution

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – As India struggles to cope with the massive demand for energy to fuel its rapidly growing economy, a number of startups in the country have ventured into the clean energy sector and developed innovative ways to combat pollution and unique solutions to contribute to the country's clean energy goals.

India has progressively decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. The country aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2070 in addition to attaining short-term targets by 2030, which include adding 500 gigawatts of renewable energy to its electricity grid, meeting 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy sources, reducing its total projected carbon emissions by one billion tons and reducing the emissions intensity of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 45%.

Over the years, a number of startups have surfaced which are providing solutions to different environmental problems.

Aloe Ecell is one of them. The company, which is based in the northern state of Rajasthan, is dealing with the problem of growing e-waste by creating the world's first herbal battery made from aloe vera. The company says it is providing the world's first 100% eco-friendly, non-toxic, non-hazardous batteries using succulent plant species.

In addition, the company is developing an incentivized aloe battery collection mechanism to recycle the batteries into aloe fertilizers.

- Eco-friendly solutions

According to Aloe Ecell, 92% of household batteries in India are not recycled. Along with the manufacture of eco-friendly batteries, the startup will also track all batteries and recycle used batteries.

The idea for Aloe Ecell was conceived by Nimisha Varma and Naveen Suman in 2018 when they came across information on e-waste and battery pollution while working on a waste management system. The company says it tested over 21 types of bio-materials to make an eco-friendly battery and aloe vera produced the best results.

“Aloe Ecell is providing an eco-friendly solution to the problem of growing e-waste by creating the world's first herbal battery made from aloe vera,” Varma told Anadolu Agency.

“It will take some time for our product to break into the market, but we are sure that with the steady increase in the number of socially aware consumers, our battery will find a place in not only the Indian market but international ones as well,” she added.

According to the young entrepreneurs, existing primary batteries continue to add to air, water and soil pollution through heavy metal toxicity, metal leaching and the emission of toxic gases during their production processes.

But Aloe Ecell is not alone. Another startup is working to combat the very serious problem of air pollution.

- Air pollution

Pollution, including air pollution, is a very big problem in India. Air pollution led to an estimated 1.6 million deaths in the country in 2019, the majority of them caused by particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) pollution, according to a report by the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health released in May this year. India is home to 21 of the world's 30 most polluted cities.

With rising concern over air pollution in the country, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in early 2019, and it was decided to work out time-bound strategies that would have a long-term impact. With erratic power supply in most cities, dependence on alternate sources to generate power is unavoidable, thus increasing reliance on diesel generator (DG) sets. The NCAP acknowledged that DG sets contribute between 18%-20% of the total air pollution in the cities.

Based on guidelines issued by India's Central Pollution Control Board, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, a team of skilled engineers and innovators from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi devised an innovative product known as Chakr Shield, a Retrofit Emission Control Device (RECD) that helps cut down the particulate matter (PM) emissions from DG sets by over 70% without causing any adverse impact on the engines.

Arpit Dhupar, Kushagra Srivastava and Prateek Sachan, alumni of IIT Delhi, formed a start-up called Chakr Innovation, which uses a patented technology (Chakr Shield) to convert diesel soot into ink and paint.

Srivastava, who is the chief executive officer of Chakr Innovation, is a founder with a successful track record of incubating game-changing and technology-driven product lines that are mitigating environmental concerns.

The technology is type approved by the International Centre for Automotive Technology, or ICAT, a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) accredited lab. The proprietary device has been installed in over 550 places across India.

“Chakr Shield is a hardware machine that is fitted to the exhaust system of diesel generators and it captures the polluted gases from the DGs,” Dhupar told Anadolu Agency.

“In the end, a solution is added to the gas which gives paint or ink as a byproduct that can be used for various purposes like textile printing and paper printing.”

The innovative device promises to reduce the menace of rising air pollution in large cities which recently led to health emergencies in the capital New Delhi.

- ‘Climate resilient society’

Speaking on this trend, environmentalist Ranjan K. Panda told Anadolu Agency that “many startups are doing a great job. They can really bring small changes at the ground level.”

“We see changes in people’s approach to life, lifestyle, and behavior. Many of the startups are working for accountability of the systems. If someone is working for air quality monitoring, then they are also helping in a way,” he said.

“If environmental startups are promoted in the true sense, then an environmentally conscious and climate resilient society can be built. Youths are involved in these startups, and their future is at stake, so it's a positive thing we are seeing," Ranjan added.