Everyone seems to be talking about clean energy these days. The question is, once you harness it, where do you store it?
With an ever-increasing sense of climate awareness around, the need for clean and green energy sources has also increased. A Delhi-based start-up, however, is aiming to solve this problem. With their proprietary fluid, which they are trying to get patented, deMITasse Energies aims to increase the storage capacity of clean energy sources. The start-up was formerly incubated at IIM Bangalore.
Speaking about how the fluid works, Vijay Pratiek, Founder and CEO, says, "The electrical energy that is generated from wind or solar is converted into thermal energy and stored in the chemical bonds of the fluid. When the energy is required again, the energy can be transformed back into electrical energy by letting it run through turbines." But doesn't all this transformation lead to severe energy loss? Vijay says, "This process ensures that the energy is not only clean but also remains efficient. The entire process is about 70 per cent energy effective." According to Vijay, the process is more efficient than the Rankine Cycle used in most thermal power plants across the world.
Storing energy in chemical bonds is obviously not very new. We have been using petrol, diesel and other fossil fuels that essentially store energy and release it when exposed to combustion. "The proprietary fluid also uses the same mechanism. But it doesn't combust to release energy, making the whole process clean and free of any emissions," explains Vijay, adding, "We think this has the potential to be applied on the grids as the chief energy source. Solar and wind haven't been adopted by the mainstream because of their unreliability. With an increased storage period, which can last over 18 months, this problem can be solved with our proprietary fluid."
Vijay, who graduated from MIT in 2011, launched deMITasse in 2016. However, he says he has been working on the proprietary fluid three years before launching the start-up officially. And how did they fare during the past couple of years? "COVID wasn't as challenging as others. We were allowed to operate only after being shut down for a while because we have some projects with the Indian Army and Navy," states Vijay. "We want to set up power plants in the future that can store and supply power to the grids," adds Vijay.
