Two emerging cleantech companies with very strong links to Pune have made us proud recently.
Pune based ‘First Energy’, one of the pioneers in the clean burning stoves business, was recently chosen as one of the ‘Technology Pioneers of 2012’ by none other than the World Economic Forum. This honor was bestowed on only 25 startups world-wide! Big congratulations to Mahesh Yagnaraman and First Energy. The announcement can be found here
In other news, ‘PK Clean’, a plastic waste-to-oil startup, took the runners-up prize in the ‘CleanTechOpen 2011’! They also took the grand prize in the ‘Air-Wast-Water’ category. CleanTechOpen is considered the ‘Academy Awards of Cleantech’, choosing the most innovative and impactful cleantech companies from the US. ‘PK Clean’ has a very strong Pune link: we are their proving ground. Their pilot plant is based here and their founder, Priyanka Bakaya, is originally from Pune with strong family ties here. Big congratulations are also in order to ‘PK Clean’ and Priyanka! More details can be found here
I am sure ‘PK Clean’ and ‘First Energy’ will add to the likes of Praj, Suzlon, Thermax etc, companies that are worldwide leaders in CleanTech and call Pune their home! No other city/industrial cluster in India can boast of this distinction!
In another little news, I’m sure a harbinger of more great news to come, Pune-originated ‘Carbon Clean Solutions’ (or CCS for short) was recently invited to attend World Economic Forum. Looks like tomorrow’s great cleantech companies have two things in common (besides strong technologies and founders): they have very strong Pune links and they all have ‘at-least-two-word-names-with-spaces-in-them’ 🙂 Maybe CCS should relocate back to Pune, they have a leg up with a three-word name! Hint, Hint, Aniruddha Sharma!
Anil Paranjape, an active member of the Pune Tech community, one of the driving forces behind PuneCleanTech, director at FusionTech Ventures, (and owner of Grubshup Restaurant) is joining a new cleantech fund, Infuse, as a Venture Partner.
Here are details of the announcement in his own words:
I am happy to announce my association with a unique new cleantech fund: Infuse Capital. I will be helping them as a Venture Partner.
Infuse (Indian Fund for Sustainable Energy) is a new fund with some of the most influential promoters and investors in India and the world.
Infuse is anchored by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India), DST (Department of Science and Technology, Government of India), IIMA (Indian Institute of Management, India’s most renowned business school) and BP (the global energy giant). All four of these institutions have made substantial investments in the fund.
This first close will be followed by the second close thru a few other investors: mostly institutional and a few individuals (both Indian and Global)
Infuse is an early-stage fund focused exclusively on Clean Technology companies. We believe that our influential investors (such as MNRE, DST, IIM-A, and BP) bring us the best chances of developing a good pipeline and will make the crucial difference in helping our portfolio companies thru the right policy mechanisms, technical help, unparalleled business network, and global cleantech reach. No other fund can boast of active participation and funding by such institutions. As you all know, Cleantech investments and business is very tough because many issues such as technology, talent, business models, and policies need to work together. We feel that Infuse covers all these aspects with active investments from the best and the most influential Indian and Global institutions to do that.
Besides that, Infuse is backed by a very strong advisory committee (and investment committee) consisting of some of the biggest and most successful stalwarts of Indian and Global cleantech industry.
My role with Infuse will focus on building a robust pipeline, making investments and managing the portfolio with active help to the portfolio companies. All my current associations and engagements will continue.
Infuse is now open for business (inaugurated last month by Mr. Narendra Modi who is the most forward-looking politician in India and Dr. Faroukh Abdullah, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy) and we are actively building a pipeline. If you know of entrepreneurs and/or companies working in Cleantech and could be looking for funds, please connect them to me at anil@infusecapital.in
PK Clean Technologies, a US-based company, but whose 10000 sq.ft. pilot plant is in Pune, has just won the 3rd prize in a Business Plan Competition for environment-friendly technologies held at Rice University, Texas, USA. PK Clean has also 4 other prizes this year, including MIT’s Clean Energy Prize in 2011, and is in the running for 2 other prizes.
What does PK Clean do?
PK Clean is able to transform the most painful form of waste into the most useful type of energy.
Specifically, they can convert plastics (which get thrown in garbage) into oil. From their website:
Our vision is to turn landfilled plastics into a $7 billion annual oil market, from selling the renewable fuel we produce to refineries. PK Clean has 100% ownership over our patented catalytic depolymerization process, which is now operating in a 20 ton per day pilot facility, and our MIT team has expertise in renewable energy and oil.
PK Clean is a US-based company, but their first plant, a pilot-plant that processes 20 tons of waste plastic per day and converts it into 80 barrels of fuel has been built in Pune, says CNN
PK Clean is seeking a $4 million investment to deploy the technology in the U.S. PK Clean will need to endure a lengthy permitting process before breaking ground. Still, Bakaya believes she’ll see a plant on American soil that can process 100 tons of plastic per day by 2014.
Do you have some cool new technology that you would like to showcase? In that case, now is your chance to show it for free at the India International Trade Fair 2010 that’s happening in Delhi starting on 14th November, 2010.
Science and Technology Park (STP) Pune, wants to give you a stall at the India International Trade Fair, 2010, at Delhi. Are you eligible? Click on the image to see more PuneTech posts related to Indian Government Organizations.
Basically, Maharashtra has been allocated 11000 sq. ft. at this trade fair to show the coolest stuff from Maharashtra, and out of that 3000 sq. ft. has been allocated to Pune. The Science and Technology Park (STP) has been given the responsibility of using this space to highlight the achievements of Pune. They have decided to try to find a few innovative companies/technologies and showcase them (for free).
Specifically:
It should be a company or product that actually exists (not just an idea or a concept)
It should be something that is interesting or innovative. Something that shows that Maharashtra is on the cutting edge
Specific domains of interest include CleanTech, GreenTech, Environment, e-Governance, m-Governance; but entries need necessarily not be limited to these domains
The Trade Fair starts on 14th November, and will be at Pragati Maidan, Delhi
If you are a company who fits this description, or if you know some other company who does, please get in touch with Rohit Srivastwa (rohit.srivastwa @ scitechpark.org.in), Advisor, Science & Technology Park, Pune. If you are a company/product from Mumbai or elsewhere in Maharashtra, don’t give up hope. You can still apply, and if found interesting enough, they’ll try to accommodate you.
What: PuneCleanTech talk on Ecological Restoration of Abandoned Mines by Kaustubh Moghe When: Saturday, 31 July, 11am Where: Venture Center, NCL Innovation Park, Pashan Road. Map: http://bit.ly/VenCen (To reach Venture Center, go past NCL towards Pashan, pass the cricket ground adjacent to NCL and then you’ll find NCL Innovation Park / Venture Center on the right hand side.) Registration and Fees: This event is free for all to attend. Free seating on First Come, First Seated basis only Further Info: Contact Harshad Nanal (harshadnanal@gmail.com), Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com)
The next PuneCleanTech talk will cover the issue of restoring the ecological balance of dead mines. PuneCleanTech is a special interest group (SIG) of PuneTech focusing on clean tech. Click on the image to go to the PuneCleanTech website for more details
Ecological Restoration of Abandoned Mines
There are supposedly heaven and hell for dead people. But dead mines (abandoned mines) continue to just sit where they are. Their owners have exploited them for all they are worth and then they are just left there. The problem is that unlike dead animals or vegetation, these mines don’t just decay. They are a big hazard for all of us. Apart from being an eyesore, they pose significant physical hazards (people fall into them) and they have a tremendous environmental hazard by leaching dangerous chemicals into the ground water.
Word over, this is a big problem with millions (yes, millions) of mines abandoned. India is no exception. A few responsible owners take steps to return the abandoned mine land back to nature. But how do you return deep holes stretching miles and miles in diameters and highly denuded earth around them back to nature? How do you restore the biodiversity and flora and fauna?
PuneCleanTech presents a rare talk on this fascinating subject by a practicing conservation biologist, Mr. Kaustubh Moghe, on 31st July at 11:00am at the NCL Venture Center.
As always this talk is free for everyone. For more information, please visit PuneCleanTech. We don’t really know where dead people go but at least here’s a chance to learn about what happens (or should happen) to dead mines! It’s a problem created by our consumption machine, so let’s at least be aware of this. Well, here’s your rare chance to learn about it.
What: Probiotics in CleanTech by Dr. Sivaramakrishna Pillai When: Monday, July 5, 4pm Where: Venture Center, NCL Innovation Park, Pashan Road. Map: http://bit.ly/VenCen (To reach Venture Center, go past NCL towards Pashan, pass the cricket ground adjacent to NCL and then you’ll find NCL Innovation Park / Venture Center on the right hand side.) Registration and Fees: This event is free for all to attend. Free seating on First Come, First Seated basis only Further Info: Contact Harshad Nanal (harshadnanal@gmail.com), Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com)
Probiotics in CleanTech
Did you know that we have discovered a number of bacteria and other micro-organisms that can help improve our digestion, prevent colon cancer, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, improve immune function, prevent infections, and a whole bunch of other health benefits?
This same “technology” can also be used to clean up our Industry. They can be used to treat industrial waste, and clean it up in a “clean” manner. They can help restore ecological disasters brought upon by our consumption.
Probiotics is the use of beneficial micro-organisms to increase the health, vitality and efficiency of various animal processes. The same techniques can be applied to Industrial activity in areas such as soil remediation, effluent treatment, waste management etc. Dr. Sivaramakrishna Pillai, an expert in this area, will give a talk on such applications of probiotics.
The talk will be suitable for all entities that are actively dealing with such technologies (such as Praj) or might benefit from their applications to industrial and municipal waste management. As a result, institutions such as MCCIA and Pune Municipal Corporation might benefit from this talk. If you agree, please canvass it within your or affiliated organizations.
This broad-ranging talk should be interesting also for concerned citizenry (such as ecological society) and the scientific/technological elites (such as NCL), as well as, educational and research institutes.
As always, the talk is free but the seating is limited to first 60 people. There is no RSVP and the seating will be on a ‘first at the door gets the first chair’ basis 🙂
Ever since Toyota introduced the Prius in the 1990s, hybrid vehicles have become an exciting new development area in the Auto Industry. With ever increasing fuel prices and environment concerns, hybrid technology will increasingly play an important role in the automobile of the 21st century.
Hybrid vehicles use a combination of power from an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. The electric motor is powered by a battery, which is typically charged during braking and decceleration. The battery can also be directly charged from an external electric source (these vehicles are known as ‘plug-in hybrids’). Hybrid vehicles typically deliver significant double digit savings in fuel economy and emissions.
Last week Pune based KPIT Cummins and Bharat Forge announced a joint venture for the design and development of a plug-in hybrid solution. PuneTech interviewed KPIT Cummins SVP, Anup Sable, to get more details about this ….
You announced a joint venture with Bharat Forge last week in the exciting new area of hybrid vehicles. Can you explain the new solution that you are planning to develop?
The hybrid solution developed by KPIT Cummins is a plug-in parallel hybrid solution that consists of the following key components:
Electric motor
Electronic motor controller
Battery pack
Mechanical assembly & coupling
Proprietary software for control algorithms of the motor & batteries
Intelligent battery management system that enhances battery performance and battery life
Overview:
Plug-in: The batteries used in the solution can be charged from a standard external electricity source such as a domestic power outlet.
Parallel hybrid: The motor and engine work simultaneously at all times. The vehicle will, at no point, work like an EV (electric vehicle) only and hence will continue to operate as a conventional fuel vehicle if the batteries are fully discharged. The solution is battery-agnostic, in other words, it can be adopted to work with various types of batteries such as lead acid batteries or Lithium Ion batteries. The tests were performed using a lead acid battery based solution. The solution works without any interaction or interference with the existing Engine Management System (EMS) of the vehicle. The system is thereby also adaptable to vehicles without EMS and without electronic engines. It requires low maintenance and has a reliable three phase AC induction motor.
11 global patents have been filed in areas such as integrated system, motor design, motor mounting, and control system and battery management.
Is this a full-fledged hybrid vehicle you are building, or a sub-system that will be sold to Auto OEMs?
Our solution can be retrofitted in every car – new and used. Small, mid-size and large. This will not be a complete vehicle that we build.
Can you talk about the advantages of plug-in hybrids over other conventional hybrids?
Benefits:
Doesn’t interfere with Manufacturersâ in-vehicle systems
It is battery chemistry agnostic
Is compact yet delivers high peak power
Fuel efficiency improvement of over 40% as observed during tests at ARAI. The solution however provides 60% to 80% improvement during city driving conditions & above 50% during highway driving.
Solution is capable of reducing GHG emissions by over 30%.
Since the consumption of fuel will go down on account of the hybrid solution, the government would be able to save through the reduction in subsidy and foreign exchange outflow.
Retro-fitment of this solution can be expeditiously done in 4 to 6 hours.
Solution does not require additional infrastructure investments from the government.
What markets do you see for this technology?
After-market, vehicle owners & OEMs
What unique capabilities does KPIT and Bharat Forge bring to the table?
The technology for this intelligent plug-in, parallel, full-hybrid solution has been designed and engineered by KPIT Cummins, while the solution for automobiles would be manufactured through a joint venture (JV) between Bharat Forge Limited and KPIT Cummins Infosystems Limited. As part of the joint venture, KPIT Cummins will license the technology to the JV while Bharat Forge would bring in its manufacturing, assembly & integration expertise to the JV. The solution will be marketed to OEMs and fleet & individual vehicle owners through a network of certified and authorized dealerships
A general question – how do you see the future of embedded electronics space evolving in the next few years?
The embedded electronics space will see growth in its application in the Indian Vehicles at a rate faster than what happened in Europe, US and Japan. The key difference between application of electronics in the vehicle in Western world and in India would be that in western world it evolved with the advances in technology(and regulations) but in India it will be driver by market demand at the appropriate price.
About Anup Sable – SVP, Automotive and Allied Embedded and Tools, KPIT-Cummins
Click on the photo to see Anup's Linked-in profile
Anup heads the Automotive line of business which is a leading product engineering partner to the automotive industry.
He is responsible for managing relationships with customers and helping them to globalize & standardize efficiently. He has been instrumental in creating a robust delivery ecosystem which supports clients in bringing complex technology products and systems faster to markets.
Passionate about technology in cars, Anup began his career as a research engineer at the Automotive Research Association in India (ARAI). He joined KPIT Cummins as a software engineer in 1994. With over 15 years of experience in the field of automotive electronics, Anup has played a key role in setting up the Automotive Electronics practice at KPIT Cummins.
Anup has done his engineering from Government College of Engineering, Pune.
What: An overview of the opportunities and challenges in the area of conventional energy efficiencies, by Shishir Athale When: Saturday, June 5, 11am Where: Venture Center, NCL Innovation Park, Pashan Road. Map: http://bit.ly/VenCen (To reach Venture Center, go past NCL towards Pashan, pass the cricket ground adjacent to NCL and then you’ll find NCL Innovation Park / Venture Center on the right hand side.) Registration and Fees: This event is free for all to attend. Free seating on First Come, First Seated basis only Further Info: Contact Harshad Nanal (harshadnanal@gmail.com), Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com)
PuneCleanTech is a special interest group (SIG) of PuneTech focusing on clean tech. Click on the logo to go to the PuneCleanTech website for more details
The new gee-whiz technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels et cetera take all the limelight these days. But the fact remains that they are still a miniscule part of our energy mix and will remain so for the foreseeable future. A far bigger opportunity, however, exists all around us. There is enormous potential for making the conventional energy generation, distribution, storage and utilization much more efficient than what it is.
What is this opportunity? Where is it? How does one find it? How big is it? What can be done about it? How can it be addressed? Does anyone address it today? How do they do it? What qualifications do they need to do it?
We are fortunate to have Mr. Shishir Athale enlighten us on all these questions on June 5th, 11am at the NCL Venture Center (June 5th is also the Environment Day, a fitting coincidence!). Shishir is one of those very few intrepid entrepreneurs, who have the guts to get into this very tough market, where he has been painstaking building his company called Sudnya Industrial Services. Sudnya is an ESCO (Energy Services Company) which identifies energy efficiency improvement opportunities for clients, often putting their own money on the line, getting paid only if those savings materialize (now you know why this business is not for the faint-hearted!) Besides guts, this business also needs a rare mix of capabilities: engineering, project planning, management, finance, marketing all rolled into one. It will be exhilarating walking Shishir’s journey (while safely holding his hand 🙂 on this tough trail.
Before Sudnya, Shishir spent many years at Thermax and other companies, getting trained on many engineering skills in heat and co-generation fields that ultimately culminated into Sudnya. Before Thermax, he managed plants for CPG companies where he often implemented energy saving projects, sometimes achieving 25% energy savings.
Shishir is well recognized as a trainer for energy managers by none other than FICCI. He was on CII’s sub-committees on Cogeneration and Energy End-use Efficiency and on an MNES Committee for evolving a National Policy on Bio-mass Based Cogeneration. He is a qualified Lead Assessor for ISO 9000 certification and has undergone training in India and abroad. He qualified as a Certified Energy Auditor in the first examination conducted by the BEE in 2004.
Shishir is a graduate in Chemical Technology and now resides in Pune.
As always, seating is limited, no reservations and strictly on a first-come, first-seated basis.
About PuneCleanTech
PuneCleanTech is a special interest group of PuneTech focusing on Clean Technologies. It is an awareness, education, and networking platform to showcase Clean Technologies developed and used in and around Pune, one of the largest Industrial hubs in India. The network brings together technology professionals, entrepreneurs, students, policy makers, investors, and citizens interested in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Waste management, Water Management, and Environmentally-Friendly Design/Development/Delivery Alternatives to Traditional Products and Services. Those interested in this area are urged to join the PuneCleanTech mailing list, Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com) with support from PuneTech and NCL Venture Center.
About NCL Venture Center:
Venture Center – a CSIR initiative – is a not-for-profit company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. Venture Center strives to nucleate and nurture technology and knowledge-based enterprises by leveraging the scientific and engineering competencies of the institutions in the Pune region in India. The Venture Center is a technology business incubator specializing in technology enterprises offering products and services exploiting scientific expertise in the areas of materials, chemicals and biological sciences & engineering.
Under the newly announced PuneCleanTech banner, we’re happy to announce the kickoff presentation by Dr. Balu Sarma (President and CTO of Praj Matrix, the world-class R&D initiative of Praj Industries) on Saturday, 17th April at 10am. We are indeed very fortunate to have an eminent technocrat like Dr. Sarma kickoff this new forum, enlightening us about all things CleanTech (and biofuels in particular). For some background about Praj Matrix, see this PuneTech report from last year.
PuneCleanTech is a special interest group (SIG) of PuneTech focusing on clean tech.
If Information Technology helped Indian Economy soar, CleanTech can push it to stratospheric heights. World over, CleanTech has already replaced IT as ‘Tomorrow’s Technology’. It’s the next big wave. But what is it really? What’s driving CleanTech to be billed as ‘bigger than IT, Bigger than Internet, Bigger than anything the world has seen’? What do esoteric terms such as Biofuels, Geothermal, Reverse Osmosis, Algal Fuels, Passive Solar, PhotoVoltaics really mean? What are the advantages of these technologies? Which of them are relevant to India? Why? And finally, why should we really care about it all?
Come listen to Dr. Balu Sarma answer all these questions and more. Confirm what you know. Understand what you don’t. Meet other CleanTech enthusiasts. Ask Questions. Get Answers. Be Informed. It’s our future we will be talking about!
When: Saturday, April 17th, 10am Where: Venture Center, NCL Innovation Park, Pashan Road. Map: http://bit.ly/VenCen (To reach Venture Center, go past NCL towards Pashan, pass the cricket ground adjacent to NCL and then youâll find NCL Innovation Park / Venture Center on the right hand side.) Registration and Fees: This event is free for all to attend. Free seating on First Come, First Seated basis only Further Info: Contact Harshad Nanal (harshadnanal@gmail.com), Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com)
About PuneCleanTech
PuneCleanTech is a special interest group of PuneTech focusing on Clean Technologies. It is an awareness, education, and networking platform to showcase Clean Technologies developed and used in and around Pune, one of the largest Industrial hubs in India. The network brings together technology professionals, entrepreneurs, students, policy makers, investors, and citizens interested in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Waste management, Water Management, and Environmentally-Friendly Design/Development/Delivery Alternatives to Traditional Products and Services. PuneCleanTech is run by Harshad Nanal (harshadnanal@gmail.com), Anil Paranjape (amparanjape@gmail.com)
with support from PuneTech and NCL Venture Center.
About NCL Venture Center:
Venture Center – a CSIR initiative – is a not-for-profit company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. Venture Center strives to nucleate and nurture technology and knowledge-based enterprises by leveraging the scientific and engineering competencies of the institutions in the Pune region in India. The Venture Center is a technology business incubator specializing in technology enterprises offering products and services exploiting scientific expertise in the areas of materials, chemicals and biological sciences & engineering.
What: Startup Saturday Pune, focusing on clean tech When: Saturday, April 10th, 3pm-6pm Where: Centre for Management Research & Development (CMRD), Near Patrakar Nagar, Off Senapati Bapat Road, Map Registration & Fees: This event is free for all. No registration required.
Startup Saturday Pune is a once a month meeting where startups pitch to a panel of experts and investors. Anybody can attend these meetings. Click on the logo to see info about previous Startup Saturday meets
Details
Clean tech has been favorite sector for VC investments for the last couple of years, by far bypassing mobile, web 2.0 and health care. Why. Because ventures succeed if it can solve a customer pain point. And environment, energy, water waste and public transport has been a major pain in the neck of Government, large corporates and public at large in all countries. Just to explain in brief, below are a few keywords.
Environment – Global warming, Deforestation, Ozone layer and
Natural disasters
Energy – from fossil fuels, solar, hydro, wind, nuclear, tidal,
geothermal and bio material
Water – Harvesting, usage, recycling, desalination and drinking water
Public Transport – vehicles on batteries, solar, hydrogen, hybrid
engines, mass rapid transport
Clean tech promises to solve these pain points. We are convinced, if
you are looking for business opportunities, clean tech is really a
fertile ground. To explain this further, we have investors, experts,
business and startups from Clean Tech.
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