Sustainability has become a buzzword in recent times – whether it is in corporate, fashion industry, healthcare or education. Amid the fast depleting natural resources and rapid urbanisation, focusing on environmental sustainability has indeed become the need of the hour, though, not putting the economy at stake.
As the need to tackle climate change and the succeeding consequences becomes direr than ever, IITs and their alumni are doing their bit. Moreover, where research and innovation are concerned, they have always remained at the forefront. IIT Jodhpur alumni Neeraj Kumar and Manish Kumar Das are among the innovators who have been striving to bridge the gap in the solar industry.
Witnessing how a lot of water gets wasted in the process of cleaning solar panels, they launched Skilancer Solar. Founded in 2017, the start-up offers permanent solutions for cleaning solar panels at commercial areas by leveraging AI-powered autonomous robotic system. This eliminates the need of water or manual intervention.
Similarly, with the depletion of natural resources becoming one of the major concerns nationally as well as globally, many companies are stepping up in their innovation game in the renewable energy space. With that said, the role of solar power cannot be overstated as it is not only renewable, but also helps in tackling the increasing emissions of greenhouse gases. One such solar power-based company is Oorjan founded by IIT Bombay alumni Roli Gupta and Gautam Das.
Currently operational across 14 states in India, the start-up helps in setting up and maintaining solar panels and aims to take solar energy to the maximum number of people. Rajat Khare, one of the IIT Delhi alumni and founder of Boundary Holding, has also been boosting clean-tech start-ups through investments. Based in Luxembourg, his firm mainly offers opportunities for companies in the tech space to transform their innovative ideas into reality.
Among the list of its investees is Ranmarine Technology, a Netherlands-based clean-tech start-up that designs and develops autonomous surface vehicles to address the plastic pollution crisis in the marine environment. Through its investment, the Rajat Khare founded firm aims to facilitate a robust R&D eco-system for Ranmarine and help it in expanding its presence across the market.
Artificial intelligence is innovating at a rapid pace and therefore, it becomes crucial to leverage it in the right way to address the prevailing environmental concerns. As a group of institutes that is known to be a breeding ground for technopreneurs in India, it is commendable on the part of the IITs, as well as their alumni who are putting their best foot forward in the global environmental sustainability goal.
