Delivering Steam-As-A-Utility To The Doorsteps Of Industries, With Lower Coal Consumptions And Emissions

Steam House, a first-of-its-kind company in India that focuses on leveraging IoT to provide Steam-as-a-Utility to industries through a grid of pipelines. Vishal Budhia Managing Director, Steam House India speaks to Siddharth Shankar from BW Businessworld about the company’s mission to clean-up the environment for future generations.

Excerpts

Steam House is a very unique concept – Distribution of steam through IoT, will you pls throw some light on the concept?

A lot of industries mandatorily require steam for production, for example; textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plywood, paper, etc. When they subscribe with us we provide them steam via our common boilers by an overhead pipeline network spread in kilometers. The industries get steam at their doorsteps as a plug-and-play solution with their billing meter installed at the premises. 

The technology implemented checks the consumption pattern and supply according to each industry’s need with reduced wastage and zero discrepancies. AI provides the industries with the accurate amount of steam they need and allows them to pay the exact amount of money for the quantity of steam they use

The use of AI and Machine learning allow us to control, modulate, and moderate the steam distribution with zero human interventions. 

What are some of the benefits these companies get by subscribing to SteamHouse Services? 

Let me explain the practices so far and some of their implications and how are we addressing the challenges. For years industries have been setting up their boilers at their premises to meet their steam requirements. These boilers are small to medium in size, have low efficiency, operated by undertrained staff causing casualties. Another major hazard is the increasing level of industrial air pollution. The chimneys in industrial areas that emit black smoke add to PM-5 and PM-10 to the environment, causing diseases from asthma to cancer due to improper air pollution control equipment and non-professional management. 

Switching over to common boiler-based steam generation witnessed a reduction in the production cost up to 25-30%. There are no operational and maintenance hassles as there are no boilers installed – no more setting aside of separate manpower for the operation of boilers and no fuel storage area required. Owing to the better quality of steam, there is an enhanced product quality that yields to higher production at an increased rate of 12% that makes new product opportunity and expansion possible – zero downtime. As steam in bulk reduces the per-unit fuel consumption, there is an improved fuel-to-energy conversion, increased efficiency, and minimized shutdowns. Steam House, being 100% compliant, frees small industrial units from their legal and compliance hassles by handling all the boiler regulatory norms and inspections. SteamHouse goes hand-in-hand with industrial as well as environmental obligations by reducing up to 70% of air pollution caused by a steam generation with a 25-30 per cent reduction in coal consumption and better emissions control

How many Industries are you currently serving?

From the time of its inception in 2016 SteamHouse, is servicing over 85 industries. We have Vapi GIDC (South Gujarat), Ankleshwar GIDC, and 50 more industries, with at least 4 more projects in the pipeline in GIDCs in Gujarat. 

You are also using coal, that's in shortage so how are you economical and also how are we addressing carbon emission?

We run common large AI integrated steam boilers. With the capacity of 30 tons and 60 tons per hour, it provides the highest quality steam at the industries’ current cost and helps reduce the pollution in industrial clusters. Its AFBC (Atmospheric Fluidised Bed Combustion) boilers with state-of-the-art emissions control technology have 83% efficiency as compared to small boilers that industries use in general with 65% efficiency – industries save up to 40% precious fossil fuel. SteamHouse reduces the mass of emissions by 50% - 70% replacing fuel combustion for many small boilers with efficient fuel usage from one common boiler that helps in keeping SOx and NOx levels well below the norms prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board with a robust pollution control system. We import coal directly from mine owners in Indonesia and this not only helped in getting the most efficient and low sulphur coal. Also, we are now looking at alternate sources like Agri/ biowaste usage to address the pertinent problem of pollution and shortage.

What is your expansion plan and your current statistics?

SteamHouse acceptance has led us on the path of national expansion we will soon be present in Maharashtra, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka. We wish to bring a revolution in the industrial utility business with more products shortly. 

Financially, in the last three years, Steam House has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 75 per cent.

What kind of investment is going into this whole venture? What is the interest from venture capitalists in this particular field?

An estimated investment of over 2500 cr is envisaged for which we are in chats with PE players who have a keen interest in our Tech-led model. So far Steam House has invested Rs150 crore and has lined up another Rs130 crore to be invested in the next 12-15 months,”

What impact will India’s new 2070 net-zero target have generally on the country?

India is almost ready to surprise the world by investing a substantial sum in Solar energy and Green Hydrogen. India with its one of the longest sea costs has been mindfully investing in Wind Mills and Wind Farms.

India in my opinion will be a winner in this story, shifting back to its roots of sustainable living. Also, India’s primary economy has been Agribased and we have been struggling to help its farmers improve their income. I am hoping there will be a lot more initiatives because we realise that much of the answer to alternative energy is available in the form of Agro waste, which is currently being burned in the farms due to an economic mismatch between the fuel costs and the availability of right technology. This correction will add income to farmers, reduce forex outflow of the country and reduce air pollution.

We are also trying to connect with players that are entering the Green hydrogen business so that we can immediately start with a pilot project based on Green Hydrogen as we see it as our next fuel.

Are you working on any new plans following the announcement?

Yes, we, have already signed an MoU with the Municipal corporations to use Agri/biowaste for steam production.

We are in discussion with Industries and bio-waste/ agro waste traders for the strategic partisanship or even acquisition to reduce our dependency on coal

We recently signed an agreement with a large industry for the supply of Steam from their waste gases (which otherwise were to be flared), this alone will make 25% of our energy share.

We have decided to approach big business houses of India who have announced their investment plans in Green hydrogen to start manufacturing steam using green hydrogen, we believe this will make India net exporter of energy in the next decades

What are your short-midterm plans?

We are in the process of commissioning five projects in the next 12 months and expect to double our business in the next three years. In the long run, we wish to establish ourselves as a major utility supplier to Indian industries and participate in India’s growth story, by having a presence in almost all industrial areas of our country.

What are your expectations from this years Budget?

We hope the Government of India further pushes the drive of making India Carbon-neutral in terms of finance and offers support to projects based on Green hydrogen and Agro/Municipal & Industrial waste