This Indian startup has made carbon capture and reuse sustainable

Tyagarajan S Rajesh Subramanian December 16, 2016 1 min

A bid to save a 35-year-old fertiliser plant has turned a small port town 590km south of Chennai into the testbed for a breakthrough carbon dioxide (CO2) separation technology.

Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (TFL) in Thoothukudi was looking at closure after its CO2 (a raw material for the plant) supply was cut off. Carbon Clean Solutions (CCS), co-founded by Aniruddha Sharma (CEO) and Prateek Bumb (CTO), stepped in with its innovative solution to help TAC stay afloat. CCS is backed by Blume Ventures, which is also an investor in FactorDaily (See full disclosure below).

CCS provided TAC with a sustainable source of CO2 by extracting it from wasteful and dangerous emissions. This is one of the first carbon capture and reuse projects in the world  

CCS provided TAC with a sustainable source of CO2 by extracting it from wasteful and dangerous emissions. This is one of the first carbon capture and reuse projects in the world.

At the heart of the solution is a proprietary molecule, developed and perfected by Prateek. This enables CCS to be significantly cheaper (at $30 per ton) compared to global alternatives ($60 – 70 per ton).

This technology also has the ability to make a positive impact on global emissions in the long term with government support.


               

Disclosure: FactorDaily is owned by SourceCode Media, which counts Accel Partners, Blume Ventures and Vijay Shekhar Sharma among its investors. Accel Partners is an early investor in Flipkart. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of Paytm. None of FactorDaily’s investors have any influence on its reporting about India’s technology and startup ecosystem.