FineTrain

01/07/2024

Check out our episode with Dr. Vikas from Rechargion to learn more!! 🔋🪴
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P92ztBsDP4s&t=628s

01/07/2024

What are the risks and advantages of sodium ion batteries? Dr. Vikas Sulkhe answers this question and more on our episode with Rechargion!! 🔋Out now!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P92ztBsDP4s&t=628s

09/06/2023

Underdog stories have always captivated our imagination, stirring feelings of support and anticipation. But what if I told you that the world of batteries has its own underdogs? Enter sodium-ion batteries, a technology that has struggled for nearly two decades without achieving commercial-scale production.
However, the tides may be turning, and at the forefront of this transformation is Dr Vilas Shelke co-founder of Rechargion Energy Private Limited. With his expertise in cathode material and his co-founder Manjusha Shelke, a specialist in anode material, they form a formidable team. While Rechargion, a one-year-old startup, still faces a challenging road to commercialization, it has garnered significant partnerships and funding to help it scale.
Vilas and I had a very interesting conversation around
1. His transition from a government job to entrepreneurship
2. The hurdles faced by sodium-ion batteries in the past
3. The current industry enthusiasm
4. Unique value proposition offered by Rechargion

Also happy to share that Green business podcast is on you tube now. Look forward to your feedback on this first episode on you tube

04/05/2022

Agri based fuels (biofuels) present a huge opportunity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. However, this sector largely remains unorganized, due to challenges related to unreliable quality and availability of such fuel.
In this episode, we have Ashvin Patil, from Biofuels Junction, which is building reliable supply chain for biofuels and helping companies such as Hindustan Lever, Marico, Thermax substitute their fossil fuels with biofuels. The company supports small businesses in setting up biofuel manufacturing facilities and aggregates such fuel supplies to meet the energy demands of its clients,
Ashwin spent nearly 15 years in Investment Banking and Equities at ICICI Group & Merrill Lynch, before starting the company in 2017. Biofuels Junction is now present in 4 states, and supports 50 plus companies in shifting to sustainable fuels.
In this episode, Ashvin and I talk about the following
1. His transition from financial services to bio fuels
2. Bio fuels and their climate impact
3. Building a robust supply chain
4. Scaling the business via bootstrapping

25/03/2022

In this episode, we have Anant Jain of Accelero vehicles, which is enabling affordable electric mobility by helping people convert their bicycles into electric cycles.
India sells nearly 10 million bicycles per year and 60 per cent of these are black cycles (also called Roadster cycles), typically used by people for their commute to work or as a means of earning livelihood. Given the hot Indian weather, these bicycles are difficult to pedal. Roadster users see a lot of value in an electric cycle, provided it can fit within their budget.
Accelero is hoping to capture this market through e-bike smart, a conversion kit that converts a Roadster bicycle to an e-bike within minutes.
Anant worked in the energy sector for nearly 10 years before starting Accelero in 2017. He spent next three years in developing the product, before launching it in 2020.
In this episode, Anant and I talk about the following
1. Market opportunity for e-bikes and conversion kits
2. Competitive landscape and Accelero’s value proposition
3. Charging infrastructure
4. Govt policies for electric cycles
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xMDMwMTQ5MA?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiw2Z25uOD2AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg&hl=en-IN

16/03/2022

IPCC report talks about impending water stress, food shortage, heat waves and other disastrous consequences of global warming. We explore India specific findings, and how climate start-ups are addressing these challenges. Summary:
· Extreme heat leading to high demand for cooling solutions: Sustainable cooling technologies for public spaces where air-conditioning doesn’t work
· Water shortage: Waste water to clean water, Renewable water, Water consumption monitoring
· Food shortage due to drought, floods and pest attacks: Pest management, Farm advisory & Technologies for small holder farmers
· Loss and damages: Identification of climate events and risk management solutions

Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) has announced its latest report on impacts of climate change. It talks about impending water stress, food shortage, heat waves and other disastrous consequences of global warming. This blog

23/02/2022

Cattle love their greens and dairy farmers love them too because greens can significantly increase cattle milk yield.
India has a huge deficit of green fodder (market size $3.2 bn) with supply being 25% less than demand. Hydroponics, an environmentally controlled and water efficient way of growing farm produce is very well suited to cultivate green fodder. However capital costs are prohibitive and have deterred famers from adopting Hydroponic farming.
In this episode, we have Vasanth Madhav Kamath from Hydrogreens Agri Solutions, which is solving this issue via providing Fodder – as- service (FAAS). Vasanth is solving for the entire supply chain of fodder including enabling quality seeds, good cultivation practices, data driven advisory and support in selling the produce. we talk about
1. Market opportunity for Hydroponic fodder
2. Unique strengths of Hydrogreens' solutions
3. Business model
4. Hydroponic versus conventional farming-climate benefits

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xMDEyNzg4MQ?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwje1pfH5ZX2AhULyzgGHa-jBwgQjrkEegQIAhAF&ep=6

19/01/2022

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. W. H. Auden
Excited to share a new episode, with Pardeep Garg, co-founder of Uravu Labs, a deep tech startup focused on renewable water. Uravu is building a solar device to sustainably source safe drinking water from air, which will help address rising water scarcity in India.
Pardeep is an expert in new energy systems and has played a key role in transitioning Uravu from conventional energy-intensive technology to solar driven energy efficient solutions. He holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of science and was also a research fellow at MIT, USA.
We discuss the following in this episode:
1. Uravu’s product development journey
2. Product differentiation vis-à-vis other Indian &global players
3. Unit economics and market opportunity for renewable water
4. Scaling up a Deep-tech startup

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC05OTA1MzY4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjQyMKLur31AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en-IN

03/01/2022

2021 saw significant investor interest in Indian climate startups, with total funding of around $600 million, and a number of international VC funds such as Amazon climate pledge fund & BP ventures made their first investments in India.

2021 saw significant investor interest in Indian climate startups, with total funding of around $600 million, and a number of international VC funds such as Amazon climate pledge fund & BP ventures made their first

16/12/2021

Excited to share a new episode featuring Rohit Grover from Aerostrovilos Energy, which is building technology for electrification of long-haul trucks. Such trucks account for nearly 30% of carbon emissions of transport sector and currently there are no viable solutions for reducing their carbon footprints. Aerostrovilos is looking to disrupt the sector through its micro turbines that convert clean fuels such as Hydrogen/natural gas into electricity, which is then used to run the truck.
As they say, Deeptech requires significantly longer amount of time and patience for product development. For Rohit, it has already been a 7-year journey since he started working on Microturbine project in 2014, as part of his aerospace engineering course at IIT Madras and it could easily take another 3 years for the product to be available commercially.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
1. Why electrification of trucks is a challenge
2. Market opportunity for green trucking
3. Competitive advantages of Aerostrovilas’ technology
4. Surviving and staying focused through the long product development cycle
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC05NzI5ODY4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjwjoiL1ef0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en-IN

01/12/2021

In this episode we have Venu Polineni from Telluris Biotech India Pvt Ltd. Telluris provides sustainable solutions for agriculture that help farmers improve their productivity and profitability. Its solutions include bio-based products to replace chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Venu did his masters in bioscience at University of California and worked there as a Research Associate for four years before moving back to India to start Telluris.
To say that Venu is passionate about plant health would be an understatement. He inhabits a different universe altogether, where plants are his patients and he obsesses over their immunity and health. No wonder then that Telluris has multiple patents across their products globally.
In this podcast, we discuss:
1. Market landscape for Biobased products
2. Competitive advantages of Telluris
3. Changing regulatory landscape for Bio-based products
4. Raising capital for a Deep tech start-up
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC05NjQyMjIw?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiAyt2JjML0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en-IN

17/11/2021

In this episode of Green Business podcast, we have Ankit Mittal, co-founder of Sheru Roar. Sheru is a battery swapping network that allows electric autorickshaw drivers to swap batteries and pay for it as they use it, instead of having to purchase it. Sheru’s driver currently cover almost 15,000 kms per day and are growing by 50 per cent month on month.
Ankit always wanted to Start-Up; he registered a company during the third year of his engineering in 2014, and spent next 5 years preparing for entrepreneurship-dreaming, learning and convincing his friends to become co-founders.
Ankit is charged up about making e-mobility profitable for EV drivers/asset owners and scaling Sheru along the way. Hope you enjoy this conversation.
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNjczMTQzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC05NTYyODg1?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwior9j96J70AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en-INE