Wankel Energy Systems, a deep tech startup incubated at IIT Madras, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Shastra VC, with participation from strategic angel investors. The capital will enable the company to expand globally and deploy its innovative energy recovery technology across industrial sectors.

The startup has developed the ‘Phoenix Expander’, a rotary device designed to capture energy typically lost in pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) and convert it into clean electricity. Each valve can recover up to 160 kW of instantaneous power, translating into an estimated ₹266,000 crore of potential energy savings annually.

With three granted US and Indian patents and over 20 trade-secret innovations, Wankel Energy Systems plans to deploy more than 1,000 Phoenix Expanders in India and abroad over the next decade.

“Our immediate goal is to deploy six units across diverse industrial sectors to evaluate performance in real-world conditions,” said Balachandran Raju, Co-founder. “Initial deployments in Tamil Nadu will help generate case studies and customer insights before scaling nationally and globally.”

Each Phoenix Expander unit is expected to deliver annual savings of up to ₹1.5 crore per valve while reducing over 180 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, positioning Wankel Energy as a key player in industrial sustainability and energy efficiency.