Amidst the persistent international problem of water disaster, Uravu Labs, a Bengaluru-based startup, has emerged with an modern answer – producing water from the air. Swapnil Srivastav, the CEO and Co-founder of Uravu Labs, in an unique interview with News18, has offered insights into the science behind their groundbreaking know-how and make clear the corporate’s formidable plans for the longer term.
“Uravu’s core technology extracts water from air using a unique process inspired by desiccant materials,” Srivastav defined including that “we utilise these materials to absorb moisture from the ambient air, which is then heated to release the captured vapour. This vapour is condensed into pure drinking water through a series of controlled heating and cooling processes”.
Recognising the gravity of world water disaster, Srivastav emphasizes the importance of their know-how in addressing this persistent problem. He acknowledged the truth that water shortage is a paramount concern worldwide, exacerbated by components resembling inhabitants development, discount of groundwater and local weather change. According to him, in areas like India, the place the water demand far exceeds the out there provide, modern options like Uravu’s know-how are crucial for guaranteeing water safety.
As sustainability lies on the coronary heart of Uravu’s mission, Srivastav underscored its dedication to eco-pleasant practices. “We don’t use plastic bottles, we exclusively utilise glass packaging. Our innovative reverse logistics model ensures that all glass bottles are returned to us for cleaning, refilling, and reuse. This model mirrors the system employed by beverage giants like Coke or Pepsi two decades ago,” he famous.
However, since gaining the belief of the customers stays a core tactic to outlive in a crowded market, Srivastav highlighted that their advertising and marketing efforts will deal with highlighting the affordability details, superior style, and eco-friendliness of the product, reassuring customers of their selection. “In Bangalore, we have already sold almost 3.5 lakh bottles in the last 8 months. This means that we already have a customer base which has tried our water, tasted our water, and is getting aware of the concept as well as quality,” he famous.
Srivastav additional defined that regardless of working in an trade dominated by main firms, he’s assured in Uravu’s skill to ascertain itself as a sustainable different. He highlighted that they aren’t competing towards any international giants, slightly they’re following a enterprise-to-enterprise-to-buyer mannequin. The CEO additional defined that on this distinctive enterprise mannequin, they deal with the backend operations of water extraction and packaging whereas partnering with distribution networks to carry their product to customers.
“The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, a valued client of ours, features their own brand called Aujasya in their rooms and restaurants. To align with their branding, we label our product as Aujasya, with ‘From Air’ as our trademark and ‘Crafted by Uravu’ featured prominently. This strategy parallels the approach of well-known brands like Intel, whose logo appears on various devices regardless of the manufacturer. Similarly, our focus lies in popularizing ‘From Air’ as a symbol of quality and sustainability,” he defined.
The Roadmap
Looking forward, Uravu Labs, which at present has just one facility in Bengaluru with a complete of 70 staff, has formidable plans for growth and innovation. Srivastav stated: “There are many applications of the technology we use. We are currently involved in a hydroponics project in Abu Dhabi, where vertical farms utilize our water extraction technology for their daily needs.”
“We’re also exploring applications for data centres. A one-megawatt data centre typically requires around 80,000 litres of water daily, while larger facilities can consume over a million litres per day. By adopting our technology, data centres could reduce their water usage by up to 90%, reducing pressure on community water sources and groundwater reservoirs,” he defined.
Srivastav additional acknowledged that Uravu’s final goal is to make its air-to-water know-how inexpensive sufficient to be possible for a variety of ingesting water functions in households and rural settlements. “Water is the most used commodity on earth and it is decreasing rapidly both in physical quantity as well as quality aspects,” he added.
In phrases of affordability, he defined that at present, the associated fee construction of bottled water includes varied bills, together with water sourcing, packaging, distribution, and gear prices. “Typically, the cost of water itself ranges from 20 paise to 60 paise per litre, depending on purification processes and the source’s quality…also there are hidden costs across the supply chain. However, for Uravu Labs, the cost of producing water stands at around 4 to 5 rupees per litre. This significant difference highlights the gap between conventional water procurement and air-to-water technology,” he added.
Furthermore, Srivastav highlighted the humanitarian prices related to water shortage. He famous that in durations of water scarcity, individuals usually pay considerably extra for water, typically as much as ten occasions the conventional value. But by investing in steady know-how like air-to-water, though it might initially appear expensive on a per-litre foundation, customers will have the ability to keep away from these sudden spikes in costs throughout water crises.
Srivastav has outlined a roadmap aiming to cut back the associated fee to an formidable 50 paise per litre by 2030 to deal with a crucial international problem just like the water disaster, with a dependable and sustainable strategy.
