A Carnegie-based and climate-focused tech startup has emerged out of stealth mode following its first commercial product launch as it looks to raise a $4 million seed round by the end of the year.
GreenSwans, which is manufacturing several patented products aimed at tackling various climate-related challenges, unveiled a ballast water discharge treatment service for ships as well as TMCAqua, a device that looks to capture and recover the water and energy emitted from exhaust stacks that are used across various industries.
The startup, which employs about 15 people globally with all but a few of whom not being based in Pittsburgh, is also readying to commercially launch a product for lithium-ion batteries that will reportedly make them fire-safe. This product, called Safe-Li, has received grant funding from Shell Energy's GameChanger program for its development, which is expected to ship in the coming months.
It's these products and others that have Chetan Chothani, founder and CEO of GreenSwans, convinced that the startup will be well-poised to address some of the upcoming challenges affecting the global economy due to ongoing changes to the earth's climate.
"What we're seeing right now is the beginnings of what will be known as the climate economy; it's going to dominate the global economy for decades to come," Chetan Chothani, founder and CEO of GreenSwans, said. "And regardless of whether you believe in climate change or not, the global response to climate change is happening and it's going to happen to the climate economy."
Chothani said GreenSwans partnered with Denmark-based Bawat Water Technologies AB for the development of the ballast water discharge service. With this service, the water that ships take on usually at the start of embarkation or throughout it to aid with flotation will be treated using a pasteurization-based technology before that water is ultimately deposited in another environment after arriving in a new and often foreign port. Untreated ballast water has been shown to have harmful ecological effects on the environments it is deposited, according to the International Maritime Organization.
This ballast water treatment process is one that will become more enforced over time as international regulations come into place, Chothani said. He also said the service costs about $20 to $25 per cubic liter, and he estimated the average ship discharges about 5,000 cubic liters when coming into port.
"It can be pretty lucrative," Chothani said. "The interesting thing is sometimes the difference between them not being able to discharge, meaning if they can't discharge; they can't take additional goods on, so it changes how much material they can take on. The value of the additional material they can take on for the voyage could be a million bucks. So for them to pay a couple of hundred thousand to discharge another 5,000 cubic liters and take more material, it's a huge value to them."
Chothani said GreenSwans is already generating several hundred thousand dollars in revenue and it could reach $2 million to $3 million in the next year with just the ballast water treatment service.
If the company raises the $4 million seed round, Chothani said he expects the employee count could reach about 25 people by year's end, with most being based in Pittsburgh as well as some in Europe.
