DeepTech Podcast: Uravu Labs' quest to make water out of thin air

If there is one universal threat that pervades modern generations, its climate change. With world leaders and activists determinedly finding solutions for it, there is a growing enthusiasm for the emergence of renewable concepts in all walks of life. As many parts of the world experience frequent droughts and unreliable water supplies, there is a immediate need to rethink the renewable revolution for water. 

Uravu Labs is leading the way. Incepted in 2019 by Pardeep Garg, Swapnil Shrivastav, Venkatesh R, and Govinda Balaji, Uravu Labs is dedicated to building a new type of atmospheric water generator that is 100% renewable.  Uravu Labs creates water from air using only renewable energy.

This technology makes use of desiccants and is highly scalable and adaptable making it pluggable into various forms of renewable energy sources like solar, waste-heat, or biomass to produce 100% renewable water.

The water-from-air concept, while not new, conventionally uses a significant amount of electricity to harness water from air and electricity is not always generated from clean, renewable sources.  In contrast, Uravu Labs uses a unique technology framework based on desiccant materials. The advantage of shifting to desiccant-based technology is that water-from-air can be made 100% renewable. The company envisions multiple applications for its 100% renewable water based drinking water machines.  Smaller capacity machines of 20-100 liters per day can see applications in the community spaces (urban and rural), office complexes, and apartment buildings. Larger capacity machines above 10,000 liters per day are poised to revolutionize the beverage sector.

In this episode of Deep Takes, Garg explains the motivation behind the idea, breaks down the technology behind it and the customers Uravu Labs has. Garg also talks about the investment with renewed interest in sustainability among VCs and the competitive advantage Uravu has.

Pardeep Garg is a technologist with domain expertise in thermal sciences. He has co-authored more than 20 highly cited papers with Indian & US universities and a few of them in collaboration with the think-tank CSTEP India, the US non-profit STG International, and Sandia National Lab US. He has a Ph.D from IISc Bangalore and has also been a Research Fellow with MIT US.