Cleantech start-up Urjas Enery Solutions, which manufactures thermal gasifiers and other clean energy equipments, has secured a fresh $100,000 angel round from Solidarity Venture Capital with participation of other undisclosed angel investors.
As per the deal, founder of Solidarity Venture Capital, Aniruddh Malpani will join as the member of board of the company. It is also planning to expand its reach across major states, including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
The newly raised money will be used for human resource expansion, enhancing operations and pilot samples. Currently, the company has team of around 8 people and is planning to expand it to 15-20 people by next year.
Urjas is a Mumbai-based start-up, founded by Pradeepkumar Podal, Devendra Pareek and Ashwinikumar Shejwalkar in 2012 as an attempt to bridge the energy gap between needs and availability in remote India. It manufactures gasifiers which converts bio waste and agro waste into high quality producer gas which can replace fossil fuels.
It is currently being incubated at IIT Bombay’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE). It began commercializing its product approximately eight months ago and has made two sales till date.
The second product from the company is a small scale device which can convert plastic into oil. The product is in the final stages of market launch. It also sells thermal gasifiers and electric gasifiers.
Pradeepkumar Podal, founder of the company, said,
With Urjas, we are trying to reduce our client’s fuel expenses, not their comfort in using fossil fuels. Gasification has been around for over a century. What we have done is made it usable in the Indian industrial eco-system.
Aniruddh Malpani, founder of Solidarity Venture Capital and an investor in the company, said,
Their equipment will not explode because of the technology they have developed. It can use multiple fuels – both Rabi and Kharif crop waste – and requires low maintenance. Also it can be retrofitted on existing equipment.
Urjas does good by generating clean energy. As a social enterprise, it can leverage the benefits of both social capital and human capital, so that investors get a better ROI. I feel social enterprises like Urjas provide a better return on financial capital, due to their social appeal, as compared to ordinary companies.
