Finvolve and India Accelerator Invest $1 Mn in Rohal Technologies to Power India’s future with Hybrid Green Energy

Finvolve, the multi-stage VC fund of IA, has announced a $1 million seed investment in Rohal Technologies, a pioneering developer of hybrid green energy solutions for mission-critical applications in defense, homeland security, disaster management, and telecom.

The funding marks a key milestone for Rohal Technologies as it accelerates efforts to scale production, deliver on its growing pipeline of government and defense orders, strengthen its R&D capabilities, and expand its engineering and operations teams.

Recognized for its indigenously developed Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology, Rohal’s compact and rugged hybrid power systems are already deployed in high-altitude, extreme weather zones by the Indian Army, NSG, CRPF, BSF and other key defense and homeland security units. The company’s innovation provides clean, quiet, and highly portable alternatives to conventional diesel generators—capable of operating on multiple fuels including LPG, CNG and biogas.

Commenting on the investment, Ashish Bhatia, Founder & CEO, IA & Co-Founder, Finvolve, said, "Rohal is solving a real-world challenge for India’s security forces—how to deliver uninterrupted, off-grid power in the harshest environments. Their fuel cell innovation is not only a technological breakthrough but also a strategic one. As India moves toward self-reliance in defense tech, we’re proud to back a company that is both Make-in-India and Mission-first."

With trials successfully conducted at altitudes over 18,000 feet and temperatures as low as -35°C, Rohal’s systems are battle-tested and ready for scale. The firm also holds a patent application for its hybrid power management system and is working closely with DRDO, BEL, and other state partners to further deploy and co-develop frontier energy solutions.

Karamvir Singh, CEO & Founder of Rohal Technologies, added, “Our mission has always been to make India energy-resilient in its most sensitive and remote defense zones. With the support of IA and Finvolve, we are now ready to ramp up production, expand our research capabilities, and deliver best-in-class, zero-emission power systems where they are needed most.”

This investment underlines IA and Finvolve’s continued commitment to nurturing deep-tech, defense-aligned, and sustainability-driven ventures that align with national interest and long-term global impact.

About IA & Finvolve

IA is India’s premier startup factory with multiple sub-brands that enable the start-up ecosystem in India - India Accelerator supports the early stage startups with funding, mentorship and other benefits; Finvolve is a multi-theseis growth and late stage fund that empowers startups across their growth journey—from pre-seed to pre-IPO—through capital, strategic support, and ecosystem access. IA Spaces enables start-ups across 10+ cities in India with access to co-working hubs and Third Place, which acts as India’s premium Business Cafe. IA is the recipient of the "Best Accelerator of the Country" award from Start-up India in 2022. Our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting upcoming founders has consistently positioned us at the forefront of the Indian start-up ecosystem.

CleanTech Startup Pi Green Innovations Receives Patent for Filterless Technology in India

This Pune-based start-up has patents across 30 other countries

Pi Green Innovations Pvt Ltd, one of the emerging cleantech start-ups has been granted the India patent for its filterless technology, Carbon Cutter. The patented Pi Green Carbon Cutter Technology is used to manufacture retrofit devices for diesel generators and heavy vehicles. 

Pi Green Innovations filed for its India patent in 2017. The company develops technology-driven solutions to reduce particulate matter emissions (PM 2.5/PM 10) at the source and from ambient air. The company already holds patents for Carbon Cutter in the USA, China, UK, European Union & Singapore. The patents will enable Pi Green Innovations to present opportunities for businesses to adopt technology that will help address emissions at the source and contribute toward a sustainable future.

Mr. Irfan Pathan, Co-Founder & CEO at Pi Green Innovations 

Pi Green Carbon Cutter, is a fully automatic, filterless solution that can be installed on diesel generators, heavy vehicles and industrial boilers to capture over 70% particulate matter. The company has several customers across key sectors like Auto, Hospitality, FMCG, Ports, SEZs, Heavy Engineering and Manufacturing etc. Pi Green’s Carbon Cutter solution has also been recognized as one of the best technologies for air purification globally at Smogathon 2018, a global summit conducted in Poland.

Commenting on this, Mr. Irfan Pathan, Co-Founder & CEO at Pi Green Innovations said, “We are delighted to receive this recognition for Pi Green’s Carbon Cutter technology. This is an encouraging validation for the entire team on how innovative and meaningful initiatives can lead to significant transformation. We aim to make clean air accessible to all and with India patent we are a step closer to our mission.”

Mr. Rizwan Shaikh, Co-Founder & Chief Invention Officer at Pi Green Innovations

Mr. Rizwan Shaikh, Co-Founder & Chief Invention Officer at Pi Green Innovations said, “Since early college days, I had a dream of making India proud on a global platform through innovation, Pi Green’s Carbon Cutter is a mix of some very basic scientific concepts with path-breaking innovation in the field of environment. It was satisfying to be granted patents across the Europe Union, USA, Singapore, China and UK, but being granted the patents in India is a dream come true. Going forward, my team and I will continue to contribute towards cleaning the air in India and make it a better place to breathe.”

The company was founded in 2017 as a five-member team operating out of a 150-sq-ft workshop and has since grown into an established Cleantech start-up with a team of over 100 operating from a 50,000-sq-ft. manufacturing facility in Pune. This is a company that is working to reduce pollution at source at the grassroot level.

About Pi Green Innovations:

Pi Green Innovations is a cleantech company, founded with the aim of creating technology-driven solutions for the reduction of particulate matter emissions (PM 2.5/10) at source and from the ambient air. The company’s key solutions include Carbon Cutter Machines- ‘filterless’ retrofits for diesel generators and heavy vehicles. In addition, Pi Green has also developed RepAir – a filterless ambient air-purification tower that can be installed in public spaces. The company’s revolutionary innovation has been rated as one of the best technologies globally to reduce air pollution at Smogathon 2018 in Poland and has also won several other industry awards.

In 2021, Pi Green raised over $4.5 million in Series A funding from the Investment Fund of Opus Consulting. Previously, Mr. Harshal Morde, Director of Morde Foods, had invested $300,000 as seed capital in its mission to make clean air accessible to everyone. The company is committed to creating sustainable solutions for a greener future. Innovations in technology and design are used to indigenously develop products that hold the promise of a cleaner environment.

Pi Green’s technology has patents granted in the USA, UK, China, EU, and Singapore. For further information about Pl Green Innovations, please visit: https://pigreeninnovations.com/

CleanTech-led Logistics Startup Tessol Raises Follow-on Funding from 1Crowd, Infuse Ventures and Ankur Capital

Tessol, a Mumbai-based startup in the CleanTech-led cold chain logistics space, has recently raised an undisclosed amount in follow-on equity funding from early stage venture capital firm 1Crowd, and existing investors Infuse Ventures and Ankur Capital.

Founded in 2013 by IIT Delhi – Harvard alumnus Rajat Gupta, Tessol (Thermal Energy Service Solutions Private Limited) aims to revolutionize the cold chain distribution in India using its proprietary "Energy Storage" technology based solutions. These products and solutions, while being environmentally sustainable, reduce the lifetime cost of cooling by more than 50% therefore making cold chain on low value products viable. Over the last few years, TESSOL has developed solutions ranging from farm level collection to home delivery and works with the largest FMCG, food processing and e-commerce players in India. Funds raised in this round would be utilized by TESSOL for strengthening the current product suite and bringing some disruptive products that were under development to pilot and commercialization.

It may be recalled that, last year in May, the startup was among the 6 winners of the Startup Energy Transition Awards organised by the Deutsche Energie–Agentur, the German Energy Agency (dena) for recognizing innovative business ideas in clean tech and energy transition area from across the world.

“There are huge gaps in the Indian food supply chain and while there are several cold chain products available in the market, there is a dearth of viable solutions. At TESSOL, we believe in partnering with our customers and working out system level solutions that can drastically impact costs while improving the performance,” said Rajat Gupta, CEO of Tessol, who has several years of past industry experience.

“We see Tessol occupy a sweet spot at the intersection of India’s underserved cold chain architecture and a vacuum in environmentally-friendly clean energy solutions. Tessol’s farm-to-fork product range serves myriad use cases, application segments and customer profiles, and the breadth and depth of their client roster bears ample testimony to the efficacy of their innovation-driven offerings,” said Anil Gudibande, co-founder of 1Crowd.

“Tessol is one of the very few innovation-driven cold chain product companies. With their superior energy-efficient technology, already adopted by many marquee clients across industries, the company is well-positioned to service the growing demand for cold chain infrastructure,” said Amber Maheshwari, Vice PresidentatInfuse Ventures.

“We are excited about the rapid growth in TESSOL’s range of cost efficient, high performance cold-chain solutions, which is bringing in new, quality-conscious customers across end-user segments. We believe TESSOL’s technology can, over the longer-term, aid significant reduction in losses in the agri/food chain from the current high levels,” said Krishnan Neelakantan, Senior Directorat Ankur Capital.

In April, 1Crowd led $650K investment of an another logistics segment startup, Mojro, a Bengaluru-based smart urban logistics platform, which offers a machine learning driven intra-city logistic planning and optimization.

Earlier this month, 1Crowd, along with government’s BIRAC, has invested undisclosed amount in Pune-based healthcare startup SynThera Biomedical Private Limited, which focuses on R&D, manufacture and commercialization of affordable biomaterials-based medical devices.

[Top Image Via - dena.de]

CleanTech-led Logistics Startup Tessol Raises Follow-on Funding from 1Crowd, Infuse Ventures and Ankur Capital

Tessol, a Mumbai-based startup in the CleanTech-led cold chain logistics space, has recently raised an undisclosed amount in follow-on equity funding from early stage venture capital firm 1Crowd, and existing investors Infuse Ventures and Ankur Capital.

Founded in 2013 by IIT Delhi – Harvard alumnus Rajat Gupta, Tessol (Thermal Energy Service Solutions Private Limited) aims to revolutionize the cold chain distribution in India using its proprietary "Energy Storage" technology based solutions. These products and solutions, while being environmentally sustainable, reduce the lifetime cost of cooling by more than 50% therefore making cold chain on low value products viable. 

Over the last few years, TESSOL has developed solutions ranging from farm level collection to home delivery and works with the largest FMCG, food processing and e-commerce players in India. Funds raised in this round would be utilized by TESSOL for strengthening the current product suite and bringing some disruptive products that were under development to pilot and commercialization.

It may be recalled that, last year in May, the startup was among the 6 winners of the Startup Energy Transition Awards organised by the Deutsche Energie–Agentur, the German Energy Agency (dena) for recognizing innovative business ideas in clean tech and energy transition area from across the world.

"There are huge gaps in the Indian food supply chain and while there are several cold chain products available in the market, there is a dearth of viable solutions. At TESSOL, we believe in partnering with our customers and working out system level solutions that can drastically impact costs while improving the performance,” said Rajat Gupta, CEO of Tessol, who has several years of past industry experience.

“We see Tessol occupy a sweet spot at the intersection of India’s underserved cold chain architecture and a vacuum in environmentally-friendly clean energy solutions. Tessol’s farm-to-fork product range serves myriad use cases, application segments and customer profiles, and the breadth and depth of their client roster bears ample testimony to the efficacy of their innovation-driven offerings,” said Anil Gudibande, co-founder of 1Crowd.

“Tessol is one of the very few innovation-driven cold chain product companies. With their superior energy-efficient technology, already adopted by many marquee clients across industries, the company is well-positioned to service the growing demand for cold chain infrastructure,” said Amber Maheshwari, Vice PresidentatInfuse Ventures.

“We are excited about the rapid growth in TESSOL’s range of cost efficient, high performance cold-chain solutions, which is bringing in new, quality-conscious customers across end-user segments. We believe TESSOL’s technology can, over the longer-term, aid significant reduction in losses in the agri/food chain from the current high levels,” said Krishnan Neelakantan, Senior Directorat Ankur Capital.

In April, 1Crowd led $650K investment of an another logistics segment startup, Mojro, a Bengaluru-based smart urban logistics platform, which offers a machine learning driven intra-city logistic planning and optimization.

Earlier this month, 1Crowd, along with government’s BIRAC, has invested undisclosed amount in Pune-based healthcare startup SynThera Biomedical Private Limited, which focuses on R&D, manufacture and commercialization of affordable biomaterials-based medical devices.

[Top Image Via - dena.de]

Clean Energy Startup Renew Power Acquires Ostro Energy in Biggest Renewable Energy Deal

Gurgaon headquartered clean energy company ReNew Power today announced the acquisition of Ostro Energy Private Limited to create the country’s largest clean energy firm by installed capacity.

The acquisition is also touted as biggest ever deal in the Indian renewable energy sector, ReNew Power will spend Rs10,200 crore (approximately $1.5 billion) for the acquisition, backed by Rs1,643 crore ($247 million) from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

This strategic investment helps ReNew Power further consolidate its position in the fast-growing, Indian clean energy sector. ReNew Power currently has green energy assets of more than 4500 MW, which include a commissioned capacity of approximately 2800 MW. Ostro Energy has a total capacity of more than 1100 MW, out of which nearly 850 MW is already commissioned. With the acquisition of these assets, ReNew Power’s capacity will now exceed 5600 MW. Over 65% of the combined portfolio capacity (ReNew Power and Ostro Energy) is already operational.

ReNew Power’s growth has been mostly organic till now and it has grown into one of the leading energy companies in India in a span of seven years. This is the largest acquisition for the company till date and reinforces its already strong position in the Indian market.

The addition of the Ostro team and assets to the ReNew family will further strengthen the company’s vision of contributing to the Government of India’s 2022 goal of 175 GW of renewable energy, said the company in a press release. Ostro has built an impressive business with diversified geographical spread; good quality infrastructure; and stable long term PPAs.

Delhi-based Ostro Energy’s assets are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The Ostro portfolio is also diversified by off takers and also by OEMs, further complementing the ReNew Power portfolio.

Concurrent with this transaction, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is investing an additional US$247 million to support ReNew Power’s financing for this acquisition. As a result, the CPPIB’s combined investment in ReNew Power now stands at US$391 million, following an earlier investment of US$ 144 million in January 2018.

Founded in 2011 by Sumant Sinha -- an Ex-COO at Suzlon Energy, Renew Power is backed by investors such as Goldman Sachs, Asian Development Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Global Environment Fund and Japan’s JERA Co. Inc. In February 2017, Japan’s JERA Co. Inc. bought a 10% stake in ReNew Power, valuing the company at $2 billion. Last year, Renew Power was among 10 most funded startups in India.

The above development was first reported in Qz.com

Startup activities in clean energy segment -

This February, Tata Trusts’ Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (FISE) has announced the “Social Alpha Energy Challenge” to discover next-gen technology innovations that promise to unlock new solutions to India’s energy challenges or make existing energy networks smarter, cleaner and more affordable. In the same month, three Indian startups won top awards at Global Cleantech Innovation Award.

Last June, Carbon Masters, a Bangalore based energy startup raised an undisclosed amount from Indian Angel Network and Sangam Ventures, a pure play clean tech venture fund. Later in July, solar startup CleanMax Solar raised $100 million from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.

Clean Energy Startup Renew Power Acquires Ostro Energy in Biggest Renewable Energy Deal

Gurgaon headquartered clean energy company ReNew Power today announced the acquisition of Ostro Energy Private Limited to create the country’s largest clean energy firm by installed capacity.

The acquisition is also touted as biggest ever deal in the Indian renewable energy sector, ReNew Power will spend Rs10,200 crore (approximately $1.5 billion) for the acquisition, backed by Rs1,643 crore ($247 million) from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

This strategic investment helps ReNew Power further consolidate its position in the fast-growing, Indian clean energy sector. ReNew Power currently has green energy assets of more than 4500 MW, which include a commissioned capacity of approximately 2800 MW. Ostro Energy has a total capacity of more than 1100 MW, out of which nearly 850 MW is already commissioned. With the acquisition of these assets, ReNew Power’s capacity will now exceed 5600 MW. Over 65% of the combined portfolio capacity (ReNew Power and Ostro Energy) is already operational.

ReNew Power’s growth has been mostly organic till now and it has grown into one of the leading energy companies in India in a span of seven years. This is the largest acquisition for the company till date and reinforces its already strong position in the Indian market.

The addition of the Ostro team and assets to the ReNew family will further strengthen the company’s vision of contributing to the Government of India’s 2022 goal of 175 GW of renewable energy, said the company in a press release. Ostro has built an impressive business with diversified geographical spread; good quality infrastructure; and stable long term PPAs.

Delhi-based Ostro Energy’s assets are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The Ostro portfolio is also diversified by off takers and also by OEMs, further complementing the ReNew Power portfolio.

Concurrent with this transaction, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is investing an additional US$247 million to support ReNew Power’s financing for this acquisition. As a result, the CPPIB’s combined investment in ReNew Power now stands at US$391 million, following an earlier investment of US$ 144 million in January 2018.

Founded in 2011 by Sumant Sinha -- an Ex-COO at Suzlon Energy, Renew Power is backed by investors such as Goldman Sachs, Asian Development Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Global Environment Fund and Japan’s JERA Co. Inc. In February 2017, Japan’s JERA Co. Inc. bought a 10% stake in ReNew Power, valuing the company at $2 billion. Last year, Renew Power was among 10 most funded startups in India.

The above development was first reported in Qz.com

Startup activities in clean energy segment -

This February, Tata Trusts’ Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (FISE) has announced the “Social Alpha Energy Challenge” to discover next-gen technology innovations that promise to unlock new solutions to India’s energy challenges or make existing energy networks smarter, cleaner and more affordable. In the same month, three Indian startups won top awards at Global Cleantech Innovation Award.

Last June, Carbon Masters, a Bangalore based energy startup raised an undisclosed amount from Indian Angel Network and Sangam Ventures, a pure play clean tech venture fund. Later in July, solar startup CleanMax Solar raised $100 million from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.

IIM-A Incubator Plans to Raise $150M Bharat Innovations Fund to Invest in Healthcare, Agriculture and Energy Sectors

IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) is poised to move forward with a new $150 million Bharat Innovations Fund which will focus on sectors like healthcare, agriculture and energy. The Infuse fund that CIIE launched in 2013 with a corpus of over $15 million, was only focussed on the clean energy and green-tech space.

Infuse Ventures’ entire corpus is likely to be deployed by year end, after which the Bharat Innovation Fund will kick into play, as per DealStreetAsia report.

CIIE is the fund manager for the entrepreneurship centre at Ahmedabad. It will shortly start raising the Bharat Fund.

Infuse has invested in firms like Internet of Things startup Altizon Systems Pvt. Ltd (in which Wipro Ventures Ltd recently invested), energy management startup Ecolibrium Energy Pvt. Ltd, and recycling firm Karma Recycling Pvt. Ltd. “Infuse has made 14 investments so far, including one company that has shut down. We have deployed more than 90 per cent of our first fund and are reserving the remainder for follow-on or bridge funding into our own companies this year,” Kunal Upadhyay, CEO, Infuse Ventures said. “New investments will be out of Bharat and Infuse will only support existing portfolio companies.”

Infuse Ventures’ investments are equity-linked structures, with the attempt to syndicate deals or bring in other angels or investors who are interested in the space. Typically the investments ranges between Rs 1- 10 crore. Infuse also helps its portfolio companies raise debt, and four of its investors are banks.

“Infuse is mandated to invest in entities incorporated in India and predominantly serving the Indian market. But we are very interested in sourcing technologies developed elsewhere that may have a large opportunity in India,” Upadhyay said while commenting on whether Infuse would be interested in overseas companies.

Other clean tech areas that CIIE is looking at is rooftop solar and solar as a service, along with water-tech. “There is significant resource efficiency potential in both these sectors, and it is possible for new business models to exploit this potential,” Kunal added.