Tag: Climate Action

In the vast and dynamic landscape of India’s energy sector, currently responsible for 73% of total GHG emissions, the urgency for sustainable solutions is stark. As the nation strides towards renewable energy, adopting innovative technologies that can aid India’s net zero goals is paramount.

Founded in 2016, GRE is pioneering a novel bi-phasic fermentation process, using proprietary microbial cultures and a patented reactor design, that converts organic waste / biomass into Green Hydrogen. Unlike traditional methods, this solution requires no sterilisation, leaves zero residues, and is a scalable, modular and decentralised system. The process is 50% more energy-efficient and uses 30x less water than conventional water-electrolysis methods and is effectively carbon-negative by allowing for the sequestering of carbon with microalgae cultures. This technological prowess has positioned GRE as a front runner in the field, recognized by the Government of the UK for its energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

GRE’s innovative process also produces high-quality organic fertilisers, contributing to a circular economy. With ongoing projects and a strong pipeline, including collaborations with industry giants like Tata Power and ITC, GRE is set to accelerate adoption for bio-based solutions in the Green Hydrogen industry in India. The company targets mini grids and industries transitioning from conventional fuels to cleaner alternatives, aiming to capture a significant market share by 2030.

With substantial funding received and a strong pipeline for further investments, GRE is well-positioned for growth. Their business model, focusing on bio-methane, organic fertilisers, Green Hydrogen and carbon credits, ensures diverse revenue streams and sustainability. The team, led by experienced founders and a robust group of engineers and scientists, is committed to scaling operations and driving the adoption of Green Hydrogen.

ACT For Environment’s grant support will help accelerate the commercialization of GRE’s Green Hydrogen operations – aiming to scale production, validate the technology at scale, reduce costs, and ensure industry readiness. We are excited to support Grassroots Energy in producing cheaper and energy efficient green hydrogen with their technological solution that leverages biomass to unlock alternative pathways for clean energy adoption in the country!

In the quiet village of Yermagad, in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, a 73-year-old farmer named Najukrao Ranu Achala leads his life in a tiny hut on his 8-acre land with 7 goats, 11 cows, 38 hens, and 2 dogs. Finding solace in simplicity, he only owns a bicycle that helps him visit the nearest market to buy essential goods.

In 2023, Najukrao’s life took a transformative turn when Farmers For Forests, an organisation that partners with local communities to protect and increase India’s biodiverse forest cover, approached him. He expressed his interest in cultivating bamboo, mahua, toddy palm, and arjun trees on his land but also articulated the lack of financial resources as an obstacle. His wife had passed away and his children had relocated to a nearby town, which compounded the challenge as he had no motivation to single handedly take up farming again.

Recognizing the potential of Najukrao’s land as a significant source of environmental preservation, Farmers For Forests offered to incentivize him to plant trees, not only as a way to enable afforestation but also to aid his livelihood. This is the mechanism with which F4F operates – their innovative payment for ecosystem services (PES) model treats farmers as stewards of the environment and financially compensates them to provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge, nurturing biodiversity habitat, afforestation etc.

The F4F team provided Najukrao with saplings, organic fertilisers, and crucial labour support to initiate the plantation and, over the next four years, he will receive regular cash transfers to take care of the saplings. As the fourth year approaches, Najukrao will not only generate revenue from selling agroforestry produce but will also help F4F tap into the carbon credit markets – turning his efforts towards environmental stewardship into a sustainable operating model for the organisation.

Najukrao is only one example of the systemic environmental impact that F4F is creating. India’s agrarian communities remain one of the most vulnerable parts of the population bearing the disproportionate impact of climate change, despite having almost zero contribution to greenhouse emissions. Many of them are abandoning agriculture for other livelihoods due to climate change induced uncertain rainfall, land degradation and crop losses. Under these circumstances, Farmers For Forests offer local rural communities opportunities to both mitigate and adapt to climate change while significantly aiding green livelihoods.

Najukrao’s collaboration with Farmers For Forests is in its first year. “For all of my daily needs, I rely on the land. With this cash transfer, I will take care of the saplings planted, but I will also replace my old and broken transistor radio to buy a new one. It’s my regular connection to hear what is happening in the world!”

Cancrie aims to impact the battery industry by significantly enhancing battery performance, reducing waste, and extending their lifespan. By using agri-waste as an input, Cancrie has created advanced-grade high-purity nano carbons which are used as an additive on battery electrode plates to increase the battery cycle life by more than 50% and enhance energy efficiency by 40%. This leads to faster charging, reduced electricity wastage, and better utilisation of active materials. Their innovative breakthrough not only benefits the end consumers and battery manufacturers economically but also creates a positive environmental impact.

One of the key advantages of Cancrie’s solution is its versatility across multiple battery chemistries. With their materials showing promise, Cancrie has already gained traction in the market, working with notable clients such as Luminous, Laurus, Future Energy and Exide. Their initial target market of $1.6 billion comprises the lead-acid segment, where they are already conducting paid pilots. Eventually, the company has larger plans to expand their solution to other battery chemistries, including lithium-ion, supercapacitors, Na-ion, and Flow batteries for which they already have proof of concepts ready. This opens up a world of exciting possibilities for Cancrie’s future as well as the resulting climate impact.

Cancrie distinguishes itself through its commitment to environmental sustainability. By extending the lifespan of batteries, Cancrie significantly reduces the need for extracting raw materials and the environmentally damaging practice of mining. Furthermore, Cancrie’s production process is far more energy-efficient compared to other carbon grades, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint. Their process emits 85 times less GHG than graphene and 35,000 times less than carbon nanotubes, two most advanced grades of carbon.

With support provided by ACT For Environment, Cancrie plans to increase its production capacity threefolds, helping them achieve their commercialization goals. The funding received will also enable Cancrie to conduct trials on advanced-grade lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries, further validating the performance of their materials. These milestones are projected to result in a saving of approximately 630 tonnes of CO2e and 200 tonnes of agricultural waste, making a tangible impact on environmental conservation in the next two years.

We are excited to welcome Cancrie into the ACT For Environment portfolio and witness their journey of improving the performance and lifespan of batteries in a wide range of applications. We believe that Cancrie has the potential to be a major player in the battery industry, and we are excited to support their mission to make batteries more sustainable and efficient.

Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, climate pledges have gained considerable traction across the globe. Companies, as well as investment firms, have made significant commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by specific target years such as 2030, 2040, or 2050. These pledges demonstrate a growing recognition of the urgent need to combat climate change and transition to a more sustainable economy.

Closer to home, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the top 1000 listed companies. This standard builds upon the voluntary standards developed in partnership with the Greenhouse Gas Coalition in 2013. The BRSR ensures that these companies prioritise sustainability and transparency, thus aligning with global efforts to address environmental challenges.

In India, industry sources project startups to contribute 35-65% of the economic growth and create over 100 million jobs by 2030. But while startups are an integral part of the global and Indian economies, their dynamic nature and early-stage development present unique challenges. Existing sustainability frameworks and requirements are often designed for more established businesses with stable operations and profitability. Startups, on the other hand, require a tailored approach that considers their growth trajectory, financial dynamics, and evolving business models.

Recognizing the importance of startups as both the future of the business community and a major growth engine, there is a compelling case for developing a climate pledge and sustainability framework specific to startup operations.

This is why ACT For Environment, in collaboration with BCG, developed the Green Startup Pledge – the world’s first climate pledge that’s designed exclusively for startups and which aims to address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by them in their sustainability efforts. By offering a platform to commit publicly to sustainable practices, the pledge paves the way for a greener, more environmentally conscious future while helping startups future-proof their business by reducing switching costs when sustainable practices are adopted early on.

GSP acknowledges the unique characteristics of startups and embraces their staged and volatile growth. By adopting a phased approach, the pledge allows startups to progress gradually in their sustainability journey. Startups committing to GSP will benefit from frameworks that are flexible, streamlined and aligned with their business operations. Reporting will be streamlined and stage-relevant. A resource platform of tools, resources and reputable vendors will be made available to support implementation with the aim of building better from the beginning or transitioning economically.

Unveiled at COP27 and Bengaluru Tech Summit last year as an example of India’s leadership in building the green economy, GSP will be initiated with Indian startups with the aim to scale globally with startups from around the world. Early supporters of the pledge include prominent VC firms such as Accel India, Peak XV Partners and Matrix Partners as well as unicorn startup founders like Deepinder Goyal (Zomato) and Nitin Kamath (Zerodha).

To begin with, a group of 6-10 startups will be identified for the purpose of developing, beta testing, and refining the implementation process. This phased approach ensures that the pledge aligns with the unique characteristics of startups, allowing them to make progress over time.

GSP aligns with ‘net zero by 2050’ goals along with feeding into the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) and we’re excited to helm an initiative that will take startup-led climate action from India to the world!

Over 600 million people in India already deal with extreme water stress, and the country is moving towards becoming a water-scarce nation by 2030. This is exacerbated by the fact that over 74% of water in India is untreated, leading to almost 40 million litres of wastewater entering rivers and water bodies every day.

Indra Water has developed a decentralised point-of-source wastewater treatment system that has the potential to revolutionise the wastewater treatment industry. Founded in 2018 by two engineers, their patented and electrically-driven modular system is designed to treat water in a decentralised manner at the point of source, thus making it an ideal solution for both domestic and industrial water treatment. The company’s innovative design approach, which includes a structural flash reactor, enables the treatment of multiple types of wastewater, faster treatment time, higher throughput, reduced energy consumption, and lower overall treatment cost. Their enhanced water treatment efficiency would help reduce both freshwater extraction as well as the discharge of untreated water into our lakes, rivers, and water bodies.

With a mission to address the critical problem of hard-to-treat forever chemicals and promote wastewater circularity, one of the key advantages of Indra Water’s system is its modularity, which allows it to be 4x smaller, 30% lower in capex, and 40% lower in opex as compared to conventional chemical and biological wastewater treatment solutions. This makes it ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford to invest in expensive wastewater treatment solutions. Apart from its cost-effectiveness, their system is also aligned with the government’s zero liquid discharge (ZLD) norms and adheres to the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) guidelines.

Since its inception, Indra Water has already made a significant environmental impact, reducing 3200 tons of sludge, saving over 500 tons of GHG emissions, and preventing over 750 million litres of wastewater from entering freshwater streams. They have already successfully deployed its system for clients like Grasim (Aditya Birla Group) in Gujarat and Unilever in Indonesia with a total treatment capacity of 2.2 million litres per day, proving its effectiveness in commercial and industrial water treatment.

With support from ACT For Environment, Indra Water’s decentralised wastewater treatment system has the potential to treat approximately 7 billion litres of wastewater in the next six years and revolutionise the wastewater treatment industry in India!

Water is one of the most essential resources for human existence and yet, access to clean water is still a major issue in many parts of the world. India, in particular, is facing a severe water crisis. According to the NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index, 54% of India’s districts are facing extreme water stress, and over 100 million people in the country live in areas with poor water quality.

The problem is only going to get worse with climate change, which is expected to exacerbate the water crisis and have a significant impact on food security, health, energy as well as the economy. It is clear that something needs to be done to address this issue, but the question is, where do we start?

Segmenting The Problem

To tackle the water crisis in India, it is important to segment the problem into different categories. The consumption of water in India can be broken down into three main sectors: agriculture, domestic, and industry. Agriculture is by far the biggest consumer of water, accounting for 91% of the country’s water usage, followed by domestic (commercial and residential) at 7%, and industry at 2%. However, industry’s water usage is rapidly growing, and it is causing severe pollution in the country’s water bodies.

Hypotheses On Possible Solutions

Water Monitoring & Analytics: Monitoring and analysing water usage can help identify inefficiencies and areas where water can be conserved. This can help in reducing water wastage, especially in agriculture and industrial sectors.

Water Treatment & Reuse: Water treatment technologies can help clean up polluted water and make it fit for reuse, especially in the industrial sector.

Water Saving & Management: Implementing water-saving techniques and managing water usage can help reduce water wastage and increase water efficiency, especially in agriculture.

Water Storage & Recharge: Storing water during the rainy season and recharging groundwater can help ensure a steady supply of water during the dry season.

What We’re Looking For

As a venture philanthropy platform, ACT is looking to prioritise water security as a key focus area under ACT For Environment. Given the scale of potential impact, we want to focus on 3 key spaces:

Water-saving, management, storage, and recharge solutions for the agriculture sector. Agriculture is the biggest consumer of water in India, and implementing water-saving techniques and managing water usage can have a significant impact on the country’s water crisis.

Water treatment, reuse, saving, and management solutions for the industrial sector. As this sector’s water usage grows, it is causing severe pollution in the country’s water bodies. Implementing water treatment technologies can help clean up polluted water and make it fit for reuse.

Partnering with the government to find innovative business models to scale up municipal water management solutions. Because at the end of the day, solving the water crisis in India will be a collective effort; requiring the government, NGOs, businesses, and individuals to come together to scale sustainable solutions.

If you’re a social entrepreneur working on an innovative solution in any of these areas, we want to hear from you! Submit your grant application at https://actgrants.in/as-a-grantee/ or write to us at environment@actgrants.in.

With over 100 million tonnes of rice produced annually, India is the second largest producer of rice in the world. But this economic strength also leaves our country to deal with massive quantities of agricultural waste in the form of rice husk and straw. When used as biofuels, these waste materials leave behind an estimated 2-3 million tonnes of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) – which is often dumped in open spaces across India, leading to significant air pollution.

But there is a silver lining. The high silica content in RHA makes it an attractive source for extracting silica for industrial use; thus providing a sustainable solution to its growing demand. Regular silica production is traditionally done through illegal sand mining which ends up damaging the nearby rivers, floodplains and water tables.

Brisil Technologies has developed a patented technology that uses RHA to produce green precipitated silica and highly porous carbon, thus creating new commercial opportunities for what has only been considered a waste product while having a tremendous environmental and economic impact. Every ton of silica produced from Brisil’s technology can reduce over 10,000 Kgs equivalent of CO2 emissions as compared to traditional silica extraction processes and minimize open dumping of over 2000 Kg of rice husk/straw ash. But more importantly, the process is 35% more energy efficient compared to traditional extraction processes and also prevents the destruction of riverbeds and aquatic ecosystems that are a direct result of sand mining.

Since Brisil identified the problem and the market opportunity a decade ago, they have now successfully commercialised the technology and established trust with numerous Fortune 500 companies to export their green precipitated silica across Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, US and Brazil. The company, founded by Tanmay Pandya, exemplifies India-focused frugal innovations, the environmental impact of green chemistry, and the business potential of green silica.

With Brisil’s solution, the world has a chance to embrace a more sustainable future – where waste is used as a valuable resource instead of having a negative environmental impact. We’re proud to support them on their journey and look forward to helping them scale their product further!