New Delhi: Three Indian SMEs that have developed innovative cleantech solutions were winners of the seventh edition of WWF India’s Climate Solver Awards held during the 16th CII Global SME Business Summit on 24th September 2019.
Awarded by the Chief Guest, Sh. Ram Mohan Mishra, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Govt. of India, the three ventures – Deeya Panel Products Pvt. Ltd., Altigreen Propulsion Labs Pvt. Ltd. and Maclec Technical Project Laboratory Pvt. Ltd. have been conferred with the Climate Solver awards under the GHG Reduction category. With this year’s edition, the number of Indian entrepreneurs on the Climate Solver Platform stands at 22 among the 115 global entrepreneurs on the platform. Additionally, 10 Indian Climate Solvers awarded in the past years have been showcased as part of the Mission Innovation 100 Global High Impact Solutions at the 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI) in Vancouver, in May this year. These innovative solutions making their way to the listing further reinforces their potential to bring transformational impact to drive the clean energy revolution.
Given the significance of the SME sector with regards to creation of jobs, contribution to GDP and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, this sector is truly the backbone of the Indian economy, while also being a driver of the clean energy innovation ecosystem. Despite their contribution to the socio-economic growth of India, SMEs face a myriad of challenges in achieving scale. Hence, expanding the scope of the Climate Solver initiative, WWF India partnered with DLabs Incubation Association of the Indian School of Business (ISB-Hyderabad) to support selected cleantech ventures with tailored business planning expertise and capacity development.
Amongst the awardees this year, Deeya Panel Products was recognized for its one of a kind solution to tackle plastic waste. With their unique technology, they convert multi-layer plastics, that cannot be conventionally recycled, into low-cost and high quality building materials called Ricron Panels. These panels serve as a potential substitute to plywood, cement sheets and metal sheets, with applications across sectors such as industrial, housing, furnishing and civil construction.
Altigreen Propulsion Labs was awarded for its technology to create clean and affordable transportation. The venture has developed a low-cost retrofit system, known as HyPixi – that transforms fossil fuel-based vehicles into hybrid electrics, leading to reduction in fuel consumption and emissions by over 20%. Altigreen’s HyPixi is a retrofit product that can be installed in petrol/diesel cars, as well as Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs).
Maclec Technical Project Laboratory has developed a simple, sustainable and indigenous hydropower innovation called Varun III. A surface-water based turbine system, Varun-III can harness power from even small water bodies such as irrigation canals, rivulets or streams with a velocity as low as 0.7 meter per second. It is a reliable, sustainable and environment friendly technology that can cater to 24×7 electricity demand and can be beneficial for rural electrification and development of remote areas situated close to perennial water bodies, such as rivers, canals and streams.
In addition to addressing the critical environmental challenges being faced in the country pertaining to plastic waste management, degradation of natural resources and air pollution, the global adoption of these technologies can substantially reduce GHG emissions by 20 million tonnes by 2028.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, said, “The Climate Solver platform strengthens the efforts by the government to provide momentum to the innovation ecosystem in the country. This platform has showcased some of the best innovations emerging from the SME sector that have significant scope for mitigating carbon emissions, and are scalable – not only in India but in other developing countries as well.”
In his address, Sh. Ram Mohan Mishra, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Govt. of India said, “There is need to develop a techno-economic framework for ideas that have an environment angle as well as business possibilities. We need to see how we calibrate and align the 7 pillars- skill, knowledge, technology, policy, market access, finance and infrastructure, so as to create environmentally enriching businesses.”
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