Bootcamp held in city to commercialise clean-tech solutions

This is a part of a larger, worldwide competition, which started in Europe but has now expanded to countries like India, Australia, Azerbaijan and Kenya.

Pratap Raju, partner at Climate Studio, which conducted the bootcamp here with AtWorks, a Chennai based startup, said, “This competition looks at early stage climate and cleantech incubator, which is often done only by academic institutions.”

This year, the organisers received 1,500 applications and accepted 600 of them. Besides the one held in Chennai, bootcamps are also happening in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Sri Lanka.

This will be followed by one-on-one coaching before the national finals, after which the top three contestants will get to participate in the Global Grand Final in November this year.

The world’s top ten ideas will win access to the Climate-KIC Accelerator, a programme focussed on clean-tech commercialisation, through funding, mentoring, market access and network opportunities.

Some of the ideas from the city include products such as ant-slipping yoga mats made of biodegradable materials such as cork and rubber by Juru Yoga, seed-infused pencils made from recycled newspaper that can be planted after use and a film that will reduce the heating of buildings with glass facades.

Speaking to DT Next, Puja Borker, founder and creative head of Juru Yoga, said that their product, is completely biodegradable.

“Most yoga mats are made of PVC which is highly polluting and over time, with newer yoga forms and sweating, there are yoga-related injuries. Our yoga mat is environment friendly and an investment for those who practise yoga and sustainability,” she added.

Plantcil turns recycled paper into pencils and notebooks (embedded with seeds) which can be planted. “We got this idea while working with farmers through another startup. We customise pencils and have tied up with many schools,” said Vishnu Vardhaan, co-founder and COO.

Another city-based team from CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) have created coatings for smart windows.

Sumon Dey, one of the researchers, said, “Most buildings are made of glass, which heats up the place putting an additional load on air conditioners. The film we have created absorbs heat radiation and converts it to electricity through solar cells. There are dual benefits as there is savings from less lead on air conditioners and power generation through solar cells.”