Amol Chaphekar’s Pune-based Strata Enviro may have the answer for polluted Indian towns and cities.
Three hundred of his outdoor air purifier devices have been successfully tested in schools, hospitals and toll booths in Maharashtra and Delhi. They are now ready for launch all over the country.
Called Outdoor Air Pollution Controllers, they now cost Rs.70,000 a piece. But Amol believes since these are installed in public places, the cost can be recovered from advertising which will make it almost free. His mission is to supply 100,000 units across India. For this he will either have to raise massive funding from the government or tie-up with a manufacturing house.
The device didn’t jump out of thin air. The firm received support from Nasscom Foundation, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, the Rotary Club of Pune Royal, and the Centre’s department of science and technology.
In December, Mumbai-based start-up accelerator ScaleMinds invested in the company as part of the FundTonic Pune Startup Marathon, an event where startups showcase their innovations.
Product Info
The outdoor air purifiers are Internet of Things (IoT) ready. They filter pollutants like PM 2.5, PM 10, dust, petroleum fumes, among others, from air. These units can be installed in high pollution zones like at traffic signals, high traffic congestion areas, toll booths, railway stations, airports, fuel stations.
Each unit improves the air quality within a radius of 60ft and can also be mounted on vehicles. The system has an IoT integration control panel that remotely controls the units and logs the data with which monitoring of air quality also becomes easy.
One major hurdle is dealing with government agencies that approve installation at public locations. But the magnitude of the problem is such no one can stop the product whose time has come.
