ArcelorMittal XCarb® Accelerator Programme Announces Joint WinnersArcelorMittal XCarb® Accelerator Programme Announces Joint Winners ArcelorMittal has named UrjanovaC, AgroMorph Technosolutions, and Susstains Engineering Solutions as the joint winners of its inaugural XCarb® India Accelerator Programme. The programme received over 50 applications, and the winners were selected after a thorough review process by ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® Innovation Fund and research and development teams. About the Winning Start-ups * UrjanovaC: Develops a Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology to decarbonize hard-to-decarbonize sectors like steel. * AgroMorph Technosolutions: Designs an algae-based CCUS system to capture carbon and absorb nutrients from wastewater. * Susstains Engineering Solutions: Offers biochar as a coal replacement for the steel industry through biomass carbonization technology. Programme Details The XCarb® India Accelerator Programme was launched in collaboration with the GDC – Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIT Madras and supported by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India). The programme aims to foster innovation in climate tech and support Indian start-ups developing technologies that can contribute to the global climate transition. Statements * Irina Gorbounova, Head of XCarb® Innovation Fund: “We congratulate the winners for their novel ideas with significant potential for industrial decarbonisation.” * Prof. Vikram Vishal, Director of UrjanovaC: “The recognition reinforces our commitment to tackling the climate crisis.” * Dr. Akanksha Agarwal, Founder-CEO of AgroMorph Technosolutions: “The programme provided us with valuable insights from the steel industry.” * Dr. Muthu Kumar, Founder of Susstains Engineering Solutions: “We are grateful for the opportunity and insights provided by the XCarb Accelerator.”
Image source: Company press release
ArcelorMittal has selected three start-ups as joint winners of its inaugural XCarb® India Accelerator Programme. The programme attracted over 50 applications and after an extensive review process by ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® Innovation Fund and research and development teams, UrjanovaC, AgroMorph Technosolutions and Susstains Engineering Solutions were selected as winners. Each will receive $50,000 in prize money and mentoring to help develop their technologies and business models.
UrjanovaC is developing a Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology aimed at supporting the decarbonization of hard-to-decarbonize sectors, including steel. The technology uses a patented catalyst and wastewater to convert industrial CO2 emissions from flue gases into useful by-products such as PCC (calcium carbonate) and soda (sodium carbonate), which can be used in several industries.
AgroMorph Technosolutions creates a modular algae-based CCUS system designed to remove carbon from industrial flue gases and absorb nutrients from wastewater. The process provides a clean method for carbon capture through natural photosynthesis instead of chemicals and offers a broad spectrum of nutrient-rich algae-based products.
Susstains Engineering Solutions, founded by IIT Madras PhD students, is developing technology aimed at offering biochar to the steel industry as a replacement for coal. The biochar production technology is based on biomass carbonization, with innovative methods to increase the yield, productivity and quality of the biochar produced.
ArcelorMittal launched the XCarb® India Accelerator program in July 2023, in collaboration with the GDC – Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIT Madras, and supported by ArcelorMittal’s joint venture in India, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India).
According to the press release, the program is intended to support ArcelorMittal’s climate ambitions and to support the extensive Indian community of start-ups developing technologies that can support the global climate transition.
Irina Gorbounova, Head of the XCarb® Innovation Fund, said: “We congratulate the winners of the XCarb® Accelerator programme in India, all of whom presented novel ideas with significant potential for industrial decarbonisation. We intend to support these innovative young companies in developing and scaling up their technologies. The past 11 months have given us great insights into India’s start-up landscape and the opportunities it offers. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with IIT Madras and we look forward to continuing to engage with them.”
Prof. Vikram Vishal, Director and Co-Founder of UrjanovaC, said: “The early recognition of UrjanovaC’s breakthrough CO2 ArcelorMittal’s management technology through the competitive XCarb® Accelerator program reinforces our team’s determination to tackle one of the greatest challenges of this century. Our sustainable, practical, low-cost and scalable decarbonization technology based on a patented catalytic process captures CO2 from air and emission gases and permanently stores it as carbonate salts. We greatly value the invaluable experience gained through the XCarb® Accelerator program and are grateful to ArcelorMittal, AM/NS India, GDC-IIT Madras and SINE-IIT Bombay for their crucial role in facilitating the competition and nurturing our start-up for early market introduction. The UrjanovaC team envisions turning net zero promises into reality through rapid implementation and is excited about the upcoming partnerships across borders and sectors.”
Dr. Akanksha Agarwal, Founder-CEO of AgroMorph Technosolutions said: “ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® Accelerator program was a great opportunity for AgroMorph as it helped us explore the challenges of decarbonization through algae. The program provided deep insights and perspectives from the steel industry, which is a great value add for start-ups.”
Dr. Muthu Kumar, Founder, Susstains Engineering Solutions, added, “At Susstains, we aim to create a sustainable ecosystem around biomass to biochar business with our novel technology. The XCarb® Accelerator program was a great opportunity as it helped us understand the potential use of biochar in the steel industry. Moreover, testing our biochar samples at the AM/NS India facility gave us confidence that with some fine-tuning, our biochar could potentially replace coal. We are grateful to AM/NS India for this opportunity and for the invaluable insights provided by the XCarb Accelerator. We also appreciate GDC-IITM for shaping our business model.”
