Devic Earth: Fighting air pollution with modern technology

Bengaluru-based green tech startup Devic Earth was started in 2018 by cardiologist Srikanth Sola to tackle air pollution, which is often the source of various ailments. Sola’s quest for a technological solution for air pollution began when he started his medical practice. He was astounded by the number of heart patients whose condition had been precipitated by breathing polluted air. Later, he was moved to work towards creating technology that would solve the problem of air pollution for the masses. Extensive research was carried out by a team, and the solution was finalised in 2014, inspired by Sola’s work with medical ultrasound. “Devic Earth’s mission is to help life thrive by using innovative technological solutions to create a pollution-free planet by offering user-friendly products and solutions for the problems caused by air pollution,” says Sola, its director, CEO and co-founder.

According to Sola, the increasing demand for commercial spaces leading to rapid urbanisation and development of IT parks and expanding electronics and semiconductor sector add to the deteriorating air quality and stringent industrial air quality regulations . The growing health and pharmaceutical industry is also fueling the country’s B2B air filter systems market. Devic Earth’s flagship product, ‘Pure Skies’, serves as an air purifier and uses Wi-Fi-enabled technology to handle airborne gaseous and particle pollutants in industrial complexes, homes, and cities, he informs.

Although Pure Skies has completed a decade in R&D, it was formally launched in 2018. The company is now adapting this for customer requirements. The state-of-the-art air pollution technological solution provider for fugitive emissions or ambient air pollution, Devic Earth’s products are designed with end-users and their requirements in mind. Apart from Pure Skies, every other air cleaning solution in the market today is limited by a small area of coverage. Owing to the very large area of coverage that Pure Skies offers, Devic Earth has had good progress since its inception. So far, it has been installed in over 40 locations across India spanning sectors such as homes, small offices, movie theatres, malls, residential complexes, manufacturing facilities, industrial plants and cities.

According to Sola, Devic Earth has had a robust revenue track record and a sufficiently large pipeline as the only solution for ambient air pollution control. “This is what has led us to successfully raise a pre-Series A round of funding from the Blue Ashva Sampada Fund in January 2021. Devic Earth is well-positioned to be a front-runner in the space of ambient air quality management,” he says.

Where a single Pure Skies system has the potential to cover over 100 million sq ft, the nearest competitor can cover a meager 3000 sq ft by a long stretch, he says. “Right from being able to cover a complete home to a complete city, Pure Skies is the only practical way to have cleaner air to breathe.”

Devic Earth plans to start its international deployments by 2022 and is already in discussions with several multinational companies for the same. “This would, of course, be dependent on the Covid-19 situation across the regions. Key regions for international expansion would include— South East Asia, Middle-East and Americas,” he adds.

On the use of modern technology, Sola says, “We use technology to bridge the gap between the human world and the environment. The technology behind Pure Skies is ingenious and pathbreaking. Pure Skies spreads pulsed Wi-Fi waves across any given area. It is unique in that it can work in extremely large areas. The waves cause particulate pollutants to conglomerate, become heavier, and sink to the ground as dry deposition.” While this is in fact a natural process, Pure Skies accelerates it. “As a result, the air gets cleansed remarkably. Pure Skies is also free from filters, which makes it an ideal sustainable solution since it requires zero maintenance. An immense amount of human effort, time, and money is optimised because of Pure Skies,” he adds.