We Want To Be Amongst The Top Solution Providers In Cleantech Space: Siddharth Dixit, MD & CEO, Amida Cleantech

The rising pollution levels across the world have become a cause of concern. While it remains a potential threat to health, it has also transformed into a new sector--the clean technology.

Firms across the world are rushing to create solutions to this modern health hazard. There are established firms and start-ups which are providing cleantech solutions. The new sector now provides billions of dollars of opportunity for businesses.

One of the Indian startups, Amida Cleantech has become a global name in providing solutions to this problem. Recently the French Railways approved Amida’s solutions to tackle the rising pollution levels.

The application areas for Amida’s technology include infrastructure --airports, bus terminals, railway stations, parking garages, urban tunnels, public interest spaces--schools, museums, public parks; sporting venues, hospitals and real estate --hotels, malls, commercial/residential complexes, and homes.

In an interview with BW Businessworld, Siddharth Dixit, MD & CEO, Amida Cleantech, spoke about the rising importance of the cleantech sector and how his company sees a big opportunity in the domain, not just in India but globally.

Excerpts:

How important has the conversation around clean air technology become globally and where does India stand?
The conversation has become quite important globally. If I have to share statistics, over 400 million people across the world die annually owing to rising pollution levels. Hence it becomes important to address this issue.

Countries across the world are waking up to the threat of air pollution and new technology is being deployed to address the issue. India may be still in a nascent stage as far as this issue is concerned, but the awareness has definitely grown over the years.

How is the solution offered by  Amida Cleantech different from other players competing in the market?
Our technology offers a plug-and-play solution for large-volume air purification which can be installed at any private facility or public urban infrastructure. It ensures a drastic reduction in the volume of particulate matter, Nitrogen oxide and Sulphur oxide. This is done through a single process at the lowest operating expense in a compact but functionally and aesthetically well-engineered product. The technology has the capability to tackle both outdoor and indoor air pollution.

Amida’s technology does not use filters or chemicals and does not generate any secondary pollutant emissions. Thus, the running costs are limited only to the energy bill. It outperforms on efficiency and scales any conventional filter-based or ESP system, which suffers from low capacity, high operating and energy costs, and size restrictions due to technology limitations.

You recently won a large scale project for French Railways, tell us a little bit about that?
Ours is one of only two contending technologies and the only one from Asia to reach and achieve commercial scale, with such high levels of ionic science. 

The French Railways approved and validated the solution that we offered by running it in actual working conditions for five months at the Avenue Foch railway station in Paris. Amida’s home-grown air-purification solution, that took three years to develop, will witness large scale deployment at railway stations across France. Fifty stations are planned in the first phase, to be scaled up to 300 later.

It must be mentioned that Amida Cleantech’s technology synchronizes nature's properties to create a unique synergy where the air becomes its own filter. It uses principles of advanced ionic science to break down the air molecules and capture/eliminate the pollutants. The airborne pollutants are transformed into coarse dust, which is then easily removed and discarded. 

Finally, what is your vision for Amida Cleantech?
Our journey has just begun. We want to be amongst the top solution providers in the cleantech space. The fact that Amida’s air-purification technology was voted the best out of the ones shortlisted from across the world by the French Railways means that we are well on way to become that.