A Chennai startup called Wankel Energy Systems has come up with an innovative device, the Phoenix Expander, which captures energy usually wasted when high-pressure steam is throttled down in many industrial systems. Rather than letting that steam waste its potential, the device converts it into clean electricity. This has applications in industries like dairy, textile, paper, etc.
Notably, the startup has academic roots (IIT Madras / DST) and is now scaling up manufacturing in Coimbatore. They already have some funding, and global recognition (finalist in MIT Climate & Energy Prize). If successfully deployed, such solutions could contribute meaningfully to energy efficiency, lowering carbon emissions and energy costs for industrial users.
