Wankel Energy Systems, a deep-tech start-up incubated at IIT Madras, has secured USD 1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Shastra VC, along with strategic angel investors, to advance its patented steam energy recovery technology.
Wankel Energy is the brainchild of a research project funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the innovator is currently developing the Phoenix Expander, which is a rotary engine that uses the wasted steam pressure in process industries and converts it into clean energy without the need to modify the existing plants.
India has more than 45,000 steam boilers running industries and all together producing 1.26 billion tonnes of steam. Much of this steam is discharged via pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) resulting in the loss of potential energy worth over ₹66,000 crore annually. The Phoenix Expander harnests this lost energy (exergy), with a payback period of 624 months, industries will save up to 50 lakh in 1 year, and 180 tonnes of CO 2/unit, emissions will be minimized.
Dr. Sathya Menon, Group CEO of Wankel Energy Systems, stated, “With three granted patents and 20+ trade secrets, Wankel is building not just a product but a technology platform.”
Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Co-founder and faculty at IIT Madras, remarked that the Phoenix Expander “sets a new benchmark for industrial sustainability.”
Ashis Nayak, Founding Partner at Shastra VC, added, “Wankel is one of the most technically rigorous and impact-aligned deep-tech startups we’ve backed.”
The firm will initiate its initial six units in Tamil Nadu and then expand nationally and internationally. It is also worth noting that Wankel was the first Indian to be a finalist at the MIT Climate & Energy Prize.
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