HYDERABAD: At a time when reducing the impact of pollution and energy conservation have become a modern necessity, Hyderabad-based engineers are entering the green startup space in a bid to provide practical solutions towards sustainable living.
In 2019, V Sai Pratheek, an electronics and communication engineer, started Urban Rebox with an aim to help the environment with the help of technology. Currently, the firm provides end-to-end waste management solutions in resident welfare associations, educational institutions and households.
“We developed a QR-code-based system where the garbage collectors provide information on dry and wet waste segregation. We conducted a trial run in Janapriya (affordable housing projects in Hyderabad and Bengaluru) and monitored the segregation, which increased from 20 per cent to nearly 80 per cent,” D Sai Krishna, Chief Operating Officer of Urban Rebox, tells Express.
“After that, we worked on paper waste management and collected about 800- 900 tonnes of paper from educational institutions and government bodies and sent it to ITC Limited - Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division for recycling,” he adds. “We also provide insulators when the plastic is contaminated and cannot be recycled. The residual ashes can be further used in road construction as well. We focus on source-level segregation and zero-waste production with reasonable margins,” he explains.
Clean driving
A recent answer tabled in the Lok Sabha listed that vehicular pollution in Telangana cities like Hyderabad was one of the major causes of rising air pollution. Though electric vehicles (EVs) are emerging as an alternative, the sparseness of charging stations discourage many.
To address this, Arun Reddy Thumma, who has a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Technologies, and Geetha Ravali are developing Chargekart. It helps a user locate all the available charging stations in the vicinity and even the total power and number of sockets available at the station. If one is running out of charge and can’t reach the charging station, they can even request for on-site assistance.
Though one of the major contentions that people have against adopting EVs is that the electrical power used to recharge the vehicles comes from coal, thus negating the positive impact, Chargekart goes a step ahead as they use Direct Current (DC) accumulated from the network of solar panels installed in the rooftops.
“We use clean energy without causing any imbalances in the power grid as EVs require a lot of energy. Adaptive Charging is used to avoid impact to the battery performance and help improve the durability of the vehicle,” Arun tells Express.
MAXIMISING IMPACT
With dumping yards filled to the brim, waste management has become more vital than ever. Pratheek’s Urban Rebox hopes to streamline the process of waste from households to the dumping yard. Similarly, with EVs becoming the talk of the town, the need for charging infrastructure is of utmost importance and this is where Arun Reddy Thumma’s Chargekart steps in