Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has announced the top 25 teams that form the fourth Cohort of the annual Carbon Zero Challenge, a pioneer pan-Indian competition to encourage start-ups in the Sustainability Sector.

The teams were announced during the 'Embarkment' event held on the campus today
(25th April 2024
).

The CZC 4.0 launched the fourth cohort during January 2024
and has provided funding to 100 tems with over Rs. 5 crore in total. It has served as a seedbed for 13 start-ups and has transformed 42 students/researchers and eight faculties into entrepreneurs.

The selected top 25 teams comprise students, early-stage startups, faculties, and researchers who showcased their sustainable and circular economy solutions in Water and wastewater, renewable energy, sustainable packaging and building materials, eco-friendly cold storage and transportation and waste management. These teams will be given six months and upto Rs. 5 lakh to develop their prototype.

The Challenge is being supported by Thales, a French multinational company, and Aquamap Centre for Water Management - IIT Madras. The latest edition of CZC4.0 received 850 applications with validated proof of concept from 25 States, from which 25 teams were shortlisted after two rounds of stringent evaluations by 50 experts.

The primary goal of Carbon Zero Challenge is to foster cutting-edge deep-tech and circular economy solutions that address environmental challenges in Energy, Materials, Agriculture, Air and Water domains. By leveraging the collective ingenuity and expertise of talented individuals from across India, the challenge seeks to build eco-start-ups which can address planetary crises such as Climate change, Pollution and Food security.

Addressing the event, Chief Guest Thiru A.R. Rahul Nadh, IAS, Director, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, "The Theme of Carbon Zero Challenge 4.0 is 'circularity and sustainable innovative solutions' in resources, which is the need of the hour. The world is grappling with a growing demand for resources while the supplies are limited. The world needs to move towards circular economy and the Carbon Zero Challenge serves as a great platform towards this purpose. The prototypes developed here will have the potential to revolutionize various sectors from energy to water and waste management."

Thiru A.R. Rahul Nadh added, "It is important to equip and empower the cities to face the challenge of climate change. The climate change and its impact are based on the impact of using natural resources. Our department has taken various initiatives such as alternatives to plastic shopping bags. We are facing a climate crisis and reaching net-zero emission is no longer an option but a necessity. I appreciate Carbon Zero Challenge and IIT Madras for working in this direction. The Government of Tamil Nadu looks forward to working with all of you in developing sustainable solutions."

The Carbon Zero Challenge (CZC) is a pan-India Eco-Innovation and Entrepreneurship contest aimed at accelerating the transition from lab-scale models to prototypes. It has completed three cohorts and supported 75 prototypes. CZC 4.0 has inducted another 25 teams, thereby supporting a total of 100 teams.

Addressing the event, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, "IIT Madras recycles 100% of its water in the campus. Sustainability has now become important in many fields with SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) being a driving force. With this in mind, IIT Madras started the School of Sustainability, which has more than 80 faculty and 100s of students who are working on varous aspects of SDGs. They are working on everything from public policy to water, renewable energy, battery systems, and electric vehicles besides many other areas. Our goal is to get these research outputs to market with many faculty involved in nurturing statups"

Prof. V. Kamakoti added, "We are also seeing a number of patents on sustainability and a large number of start-ups are coming up focussed on SDGs. India is a country with a lot of diversity. You solve a problem for India, you solve the problem for the world. I am extremely happy to note that the Carbon Zero Challenge has now funded 100 innovations in the sustainability sector."

Highlighting the need for such events to achieve a sustainable future, Prof. Indumathi Nambi, Principal Coordinator, Carbon Zero Challenge, IIT Madras, said, "Carbon Zero Challenge has reached a milestone today
with 100 teams coming on board our family of eco-startups since we started in 2017. Our teams are on a mission to reduce carbon footprint and water footprint while working on circular solutions for resource recovery with each team reducing 100 to 500 CO2 equivalents /annum. Our teams collectively address 12 of the 17 sustainable development goals. Look forward to support the journey of more eco-innovations from lab to market"

Prof. Rajnish Kumar, Associate Faculty, School of Sustainability, IIT Madras, said, "The School of Sustainability has three different ways to improve our sustainability - Through Teaching sustainability-related courses, Strengthening research on sustainability and helping in policies on sustainability through engagement with the Government. IIT Madras is ranked No: 3 in India in QS Sustainability Ranking and we aspire to take it to No:1."

Each CZC team has demonstrated the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 100-600 kgCO2eq. The theme for this contest is 'Circularity in Resource Conservation', covering domains such as Air, Energy, Material, Soil, and Water.

As part of the Carbon Zero Challenge, a three-day, in-person boot camp for the top 25 teams was conducted at IIT Madras. The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia) conducted the boot camp as the official knowledge partner of Carbon Zero Challenge 4.0.



The boot camp was led by SusMafia mentors and focused on equipping the teams with essential entrepreneurial skills. Over the next few months, these mentors will provide dedicated support, covering crucial topics such as Customer Discovery, Customer Research, Startup Fundamentals, Business Modeling, Ethical & Sustainable Leadership, Impact Measurement and Reporting, and an introduction to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).



THE LIST OF TOP 25 TEAMS ARE:

TEAM NAME


TYPE OF TEAM


AFFILIATION


PROPOSED IDEA

CarbonAir


Research scholars


IIT Madras


Integrated Conversion of Industrial Waste Gases to Ethanol, Ammonia, and other Useful
Products for Zero Carbon Emissions

G.LED


Students


Amity University, Noida


G.LED Bulbs has a modular Reusable Body and Diffuser into which a Replaceable PCBA-LED-Cartridge is inserted.

Yotuh Energy PVT LTD


Early stage startups


Yotuh Energy


Electrifying refrigeration for cold logistics vehicles.

SunHarvested CoolRooms


Students


SunHarvested CoolRooms


SunHarvested CoolRooms can fit into a 6*6 feet area, which is optimal for any small, mid, and large-sized farm

Pravahan


Students


IIT Madras


advanced zero emission high speed ferry/vessel.

Quickchill


Early stage startups


Preincubated at FSID, IISc , Bangalore


Climate friendly water based air-conditioner

Gudlyf Mobility Pvt. Ltd


Early stage startups


Gudlyf Mobility Pvt Ltd


hydrogen storage- type IV cylinder using agricultural waste

CBG for sustainability


Students


IIT Madras


policy-driven novel upgradation unit for compressed biogas (CBG) production followed by innovative blending techniques with compressed natural gas (CNG)

Strung Bioengineering Private Limited


Early stage startups

Strung Bioengineering Private Limited

textile waste management-production of fibres from cellulose

GoBaran Private Limited

Early stage startups

GoBaran Private Limited

Toothpaste capsules are a revolutionary product designed to replace traditional toothpaste in plastic tubes with a more environmentally friendly and hygienic alternative

Theevanam additives and Nutraceuts Pvt Ltd.

Early stage startups

Theevanam additives and Nutraceuts Pvt Ltd.

Recycling of cassava industry wastes to biodegradable carry bags and cutlery articles

Chrissron Biomass Solutions Pvt Ltd

Research scholars

Chrissron Biomass Solutions Pvt Ltd

"Sustainable Production of Value-Added Products from Agricultural Wastes through Biorefinery Approach.Complete utilization of agricultural biomass by its conversion to 2G ethanol and a novel polymer with unique properties"

HARVTECH

Early stage startups

HARVTECH LLP

Development of a Digital Interface Unit which interacts with the Farm Tractor Equipment and communicates with the user via Whatsapp integrated API Chat-Bot Platform

UpFeather Technologies

Early stage startups

Startup

Chicken feather waste management

Popcorn

Students

Ramaiah Institute of technology

manufacturing biodegradable corn husk plates,

Royal Bengal Greentech Pvt Ltd

Early stage startups

Royal Bengal Greentech Pvt Ltd

converting broken rice to bio-plastic

Thaal Innovations PVT LTD


Early stage startups

IITM Incubation

converting agricultural waste into nano cellulose crystals

UPSOL

Research scholars

BIRAC

Upcycling Thermocol Waste into Advanced Interior and Exterior
Construction Materials with Infinite recycling

ReWinT

Students

IIT Madras

recycling wind turbines to structured glass fibres

Dostbin

Faculty

BMS Institute of Technology and Management

A self composting, IoT based device targeted to be used at home, making composting hassle free.

Electropulse Innovations

Students

IIT Madras

A high voltage pulse generator for PFAS treatment

Biodronox Processes PVT LTD

Early stage startups

Biodronox Processes Private limited

Living Carbon Sinks for Resilient Shorelines

IonEase

Students

Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering

post-treatment challenge associated with concentrated brine generated during urine resource recovery.

Scrapify Ecotech Pvt Ltd

Early stage startups

Scrapify Ecotech Pvt Ltd

Automated Water Drone to Clean Water Bodies

PhycoSol

Research scholars

Vellore Institute of Technology

Advanced Microalgae-Based Solutions for Carbon Zero Water Management