IIT Madras-incubated deep tech startup raises US$1 million funding

IIT Madras-incubated deep tech startup Wankel Energy Systems has raised US$ one million in a pre-seed funding round led by Shastra VC, which invests in frontier tech, climate tech, and AI with participation from strategic angel investors. With three granted US and Indian patents besides more than 20 innovations protected as trade secrets, Wankel is not just building a product but a technology platform.

This funding will help the startup, which aims to prevent the loss of potential energy in pressure-reducing valves (PRVs), to go global. Over the next decade, it is targeting to deploy more than 1,000 units not only across India but in global markets too, addressing a global challenge.

Across India, more than 45,000 industrial steam boilers generate over 1.26 billion tonnes of steam annually, forming the backbone of critical sectors such as food, dairy, textiles, paper, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The majority of this steam is routed through PRVs, devices that regulate steam flow but lose the potential energy present in the steam in the process. This lost potential, known as ‘exergy’, often amounts to as much as 160 kW of instantaneous power per valve, amounting to nearly Rs 66,000 crore in a year.

Wankel Energy’s ‘Phoenix Expander’ rotary device addresses this inefficiency by capturing the exergy otherwise wasted by PRVs and converting it into clean electricity, without requiring any modification to existing plant infrastructure.

Each Phoenix (steam expander) unit typically achieves payback within 6–24 months, thereafter delivering recurring annual savings of up to Rs 50 lakh per valve. Beyond financial benefits, each installation reduces over 180 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, making it one of the most impactful climate technologies available per square metre deployed. “Steam is indispensable to these industries, yet its potential remains significantly underutilised. By converting wasted steam pressure into reliable, clean power, the Phoenix Expander establishes a new benchmark for industrial sustainability and efficiency,” said Prof Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Co-Founder and Advisor, Wankel Energy Systems and faculty Head, The Energy Consortium, IIT Madras. Supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, Wankel’s story began as a campus idea, nurtured by grants and government backing, before growing into an innovation platform. Alongside, the startup intends to launch its next-generation compact compressors, capable of working across multiple mediums.