Our country has made big plans for a sustainable future. The country is on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. Also, the demand for electric vehicles is also increasing. As India is one of the five most polluted cities in the world, the country's fight against air pollution is very serious. What is even more worrying is that 83 of the 99 cities that were found to have the worst air pollution globally last year were from India.
Despite all efforts to prevent air pollution, the traditional brick industry has long been one of the major causes of air pollution. Reports indicate that 300 billion bricks are produced annually in South Asia, of which 75% is manufactured in India. These high production levels not only increase coal consumption, but also significantly raise CO2 emissions. The problems caused by traditional clay brick construction are numerous. This not only leads to high fossil fuel consumption but also causes air, water and land pollution. Although there have been discussions and various efforts to make brick production more sustainable, including the growing popularity of fly ash bricks, many of these methods are still not entirely sustainable.
Udaipur-based startup Angiras is making the construction sector sustainable with eco-friendly bricks made from non-recyclable waste materials, including plastic, which is contributing to the growing challenge of environmental degradation. Founded in 2020, the startup uses its patented technology to convert non-recyclable waste materials into functional and eco-friendly building materials like bricks and paver blocks. The startup has so far received grants and awards worth Rs 80 lakh from various organizations including IIT Madras, Pernod Ricard India Foundation and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Angiras has so far raised Rs 36 lakh in equity from IIM Ahmedabad Ventures and a few angel investors.
Beginning of Angiras
Angiras was founded in October 2020, but in 2019, cofounder and CEO Kunjpreet Arora began the startup's journey while still studying civil engineering at Rajasthan Technical University. Growing up in Udaipur, Arora was disturbed by the plastic waste littered in the city. Although the government tried its best to create awareness, Arora realized that it was not enough. As a civil engineering student, Arora began researching whether single-use plastics could be upcycled to make bricks for construction.
Around the same time, Angiras co-founder and CTO Lokesh Puri Goswami was working on a marble slurry project.
ഏതാണ്ട് അതേ സമയം, അംഗീറസിൻ്റെ സഹസ്ഥാപകനും സിടിഒയുമായ ലോകേഷ് പുരി ഗോസ്വാമി ഒരു മാർബിൾ സ്ലറി പ്രോജക്റ്റിൽ പ്രവർത്തിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു.
During this time, the covid-19 pandemic hit the world. This period proved beneficial for the co-founders and they continued their research to understand the potential of its upcoming products. In 2021, Angiras signed an MoU with a local municipal corporation in Udaipur under whose jurisdiction it had a manufacturing and recycling plant. Angiras began using the plant to recycle construction and demolition mix into recycled aggregates for use in concrete, recycled bricks, etc. Soon after, the cofounders began building their own machine. It was a machine that could use various recycled wastes to make bricks.
In late 2023, the startup launched with a few pilots with local contractors and manufacturers. Angiras started getting orders from here. Currently, the pilot facility at Udaipur has a capacity of 12,000 bricks per month. Currently, the founders are in talks with some of the leading builders and architects in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Srinagar and some parts of Rajasthan. Angirus has already bagged orders worth Rs 50 lakh.
