Surat to South Africa, Respirer's made-in-India climate tech rolls out!
And a boost from Microsoft 😊
Chosen by Microsoft for Project Amplify
We can’t complain much about this summer, apart from the searing heat!
We are happy to share that Respirer has been chosen by Microsoft as a startup for one of its foremost social endeavors, the prestigious Project Amplify. This followed a couple of rounds of pitches and meetings with MS’ leadership including Jean-Philippe Courtois and Lathika Pai. Project Amplify is a collaboration between MS and Accenture to help innovators scale their impact.
This aligns with our focus on climate tech. We are eager to scale our emerging solutions - accurately measuring air pollutants, provide compliance solutions to corporates and facilitate data democratization. Our aim is to create lasting societal and environmental benefits through our IoT-based solutions and business models.
A first by the Surat municipality
Surat city now has 20 atmos air pollution monitors made by Respirer. It is a moment of pride for the team particularly as this is the first such project of this scale involving a municipal corporation and a partnership with an international development agency, GIZ India, the Indo-German development cooperation agency as part of its project ‘Reduction of Air Pollution in Three Indian Cities (Surat, Nagpur, Pune).’ GIZ is executing this in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.
Deep dive into the map here
The Surat project is aligned to the Indian environment ministry’s target to reduce pollution (particulate matter) levels by 30% by 2025-26. Along with the atmos sensors Respirer has provided a dashboard - the Decision Support System.
Surat is one of India’s oldest industrial cities and has a rich history. The Surat Municipal Corporation has taken up the challenge to cut the high levels of air pollution.
With Respirer and GIZ India and research support from IIT Kanpur, it has implemented a Sensor-based Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network (SAAQM) & Decision Support System. Simply put, it provides officials with crucial data and support. For example, compared to one reference grade monitor (the expensive kind!) in the city, granular monitoring (i.e. from our low-cost sensors) provides insights on air quality for distinct parts of the city – industrial, residential, commercial, and traffic zones. This helps authorities to make informed, evidence-based, and tailored strategy decisions regarding air quality management rather than large-scale blanket intervention that may work for only some parts of the city.
Air pollution caused by smoke emitted from small-scale industries in the Pandesara industrial area of Surat city. Picture Courtesy: Kiran Suryawanshi, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat
The nuts and bolts of Surat’s air pollution control system
SENSOR-BASED AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK (SAAQM): Our atmos devices are at the core of the network, collecting real-time data on air quality parameters. These sensors are strategically placed across the city to ensure comprehensive coverage. The data they gather is then integrated into a state-of-the-art analytics dashboard.
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM: To facilitate effective decision-making, we have implemented various tools and methodologies within the SAAQM project. These include optimal sensor deployment strategy, collocation & calibration, data analytics, and visualization. This helps us generate valuable insights and predictive models to better understand air pollution dynamics. For a pioneering project such as this, we couldn’t have asked for better partners!
Surat Municipal Corporation, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, GIZ India and Respirer Living Sciences Pvt. Ltd. teams at the launch of the 'Clean Air For Surat.' The integration of the atmos data APIs with the SMC portal is complete.
South Africa’s Skyside imports 10 of Respirer’s AQ monitors
In an exciting development, Skyside, an environmental testing agency, imported 10 units of our flagship product, 'atmos.' This partnership between Respirer and Skyside holds great promise for advancing environmental monitoring efforts in the region. To cater to different user preferences, Skyside is offering multiple ways to monitor air quality. You can read more about it here.
Respirer’s atmos deployed by South Africa’s Skyside
The effectiveness and reliability of the 'atmos' sensors have been thoroughly tested and validated by Skyside, along with 24 low-cost sensors from 14 different companies and 6 reference-grade instruments. Our partnership with Skyside South Africa is a significant step forward in our commitment to environmental monitoring.
COMING SOON!
How Respirer and its partners are addressing the challenges of rural air pollution something which often gets under-reported and overshadowed by pollution in big cities.