In Conversation With Dr. Srikanth Sola, Director, CEO, And Co-founder, Devic Earth.
Air quality deteriorates in Capital?
Delhi is the poster child for India's air pollution problem, but it's not just Delhi. Nine out of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India, and 100% of the Indian population breathes air that is polluted beyond the WHO standards.
How new monitoring technologies can help cities combat air pollution?
Conventional air quality monitoring stations measure air quality and other parameters with high accuracy. Unfortunately, their high cost (Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs 2 Cr each) limits their widespread use. As a result, India has only 800 air quality monitoring stations against a projected need of 1600-4000. Fortunately, over the last 5 years, a new crop of low-cost sensor-based air quality monitors have become available, and show reasonable accuracy when compared to the high-end monitoring stations. These sensor-based air quality monitors cost Rs. 1-5 lakhs, can supplement the data from the high-end monitoring stations, and can be installed across both urban and rural areas, as well as in close proximity - so-called "hyperlocal" monitoring. This allows citizens, industries, and government officials to make data-based decisions on how best to manage air quality in a given area.
Competition and differentiator of Pure Skies from Devic Earth:
Pure Skies is a plug-and-play air pollution equipment that provides clean air across large areas at high efficiency and the lowest cost. The disruptive technology is an adaptation of pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy that was invented in the 1970's for reducing pollutants in water, but has been adapted by us for air pollutants. Essentially, the pulsed radio waves increase the negative charges on microscopic pollutant particles, accelerating their clearance from the air by 6-7 fold. Since Pure Skies uses only pulsed Wi-Fi, the technology has the same safety profile as Wi-Fi, and can be linked together as a network to cover indoor our outdoor areas covering a small office or hundreds of acres. The competition for Pure Skies includes traditional fan-based air purifers that cover small areas, or for indoor use - newer forms of technology such as electrostatic precipitators and bipolar ionization.
As a cardiologist what made you interested in starting Devic Earth?
I came to India in 2008 from the USA to serve the poor - I wanted to save lives through cardiology. During my first week in Bangalore, I saw 2 patients with heart attacks due to air pollution. One patient had a remarkable recovery. The second died due to the size of the heart attack just as we rushed him to the operating theatre. I set out to create a technology that would improve air quality over large areas, and in so doing, would save millions of lives. As the technology repeatedly proved to be effective and safe, I had to listen to my own heart. To save more lives, I would need to start a company that could bring this technology to the billions that suffer from polluted air.
How do you see the need for air purification from the pandemic point of view?
COVID infection is bad enough, but air pollution makes COVID even worse. Multiple studies from various countries - including India - have found that higher air pollution is associated with more severe infection and a higher risk of death from COVID. This makes sense - air pollution damages the lungs, making it easier for the virus to cause more harm. Air purification takes on a new urgency in this 2 year long pandemic.
What are your future plans?
Our goal is to be the leading greentech company in the world. What Tesla has done for EVs, we want to do for air pollution and climate tech. We're expanding internationally, and introducing a new range of products that will bring cleaner air to millions.
What are the other innovative green technology products from DEVIC earth?
Our next-generation technology is focused on climate tech - it reduces ambient CO2, the principal greenhouse gas, by about one-third.
What technology will trend for 2022 To make the earth a better place?
Energy consumption is the largest source of both air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Technologies that reduce energy use, or allow us to build and live more sustainability - green hydrogen, green cement and steel - will be the next billion-dollar industries.
