In a major boost for sustainable technology, Wankel Energy Systems, a pioneering deep-tech startup incubated at IIT Madras, has successfully raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. This significant investment round was spearheaded by Shastra VC, a firm renowned for backing frontier tech, climate tech, and AI innovations, with crucial participation from a consortium of strategic angel investors.
This fresh infusion of capital is set to propel Wankel Energy Systems onto the global stage. Their ambitious goal for the next decade is to deploy over 1,000 units of their innovative technology, not only across India but also in international markets, addressing a universal challenge of industrial energy waste.
The problem Wankel Energy Systems is tackling is substantial: industrial steam boilers. In India alone, more than 45,000 such boilers churn out over 1.26 billion tonnes of steam annually, powering vital sectors like food processing, dairy, textiles, paper manufacturing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Wankel Energy’s ‘Phoenix Expander’ rotary device | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A significant portion of this steam passes through Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs), essential devices for regulating steam flow. However, these valves traditionally lead to a considerable loss of the steam’s inherent potential energy, a phenomenon known as ‘exergy’. This often translates to an astounding loss of up to 160 kW of instantaneous power per valve, cumulatively costing the nation approximately ₹66,000 crore each year.
Enter Wankel Energy’s groundbreaking ‘Phoenix Expander’ rotary device. This ingenious technology is designed to precisely capture the exergy that would otherwise be squandered by PRVs, transforming it into clean, usable electricity. Crucially, this system integrates seamlessly without requiring any modifications to a plant’s existing infrastructure.
The Wankel Energy team | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The benefits are multi-faceted. Each Phoenix unit boasts an impressive payback period, typically recovering its cost within just 6-24 months. Following this, it continues to deliver recurring annual savings of up to ₹50 lakh per valve. Beyond the compelling financial returns, every installation dramatically reduces over 180 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, positioning it as one of the most impactful climate technologies available per square meter deployed.
Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Co-Founder and Advisor at Wankel Energy Systems, and the faculty head for The Energy Consortium at IIT Madras, emphasized the importance of their work: “Steam is indispensable to these industries, yet its potential remains significantly underutilized. By converting wasted steam pressure into reliable, clean power, the Phoenix Expander establishes a new benchmark for industrial sustainability and efficiency.”
Wankel Energy’s journey began as a visionary campus idea at IIT Madras, meticulously nurtured by grants and substantial backing from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, evolving into a robust innovation platform.
Ashis Nayak, Founding Partner at Shastra VC, expressed confidence in the startup’s potential: “Wankel Energy Systems stands out as one of the most technically rigorous and impact-aligned deep-tech startups we’ve encountered. They’ve masterfully applied fundamental and advanced engineering principles to resolve real-world inefficiencies with a clean, scalable business model.”
Looking ahead, Balachandran Raju, Co-Founder of Wankel Energy Systems, outlined their immediate strategy: “Our priority is to deploy more than six Phoenix Expanders across various industrial sectors and rigorously assess their performance in real-world conditions over the coming months. Given the unique operational dynamics of each sector, these deployments will be crucial in generating compelling case studies and customer insights, bolstering our confidence for broader expansion. Initially, we plan to concentrate our efforts within Tamil Nadu to ensure robust local support, before extending our reach to other regions.”