Enerzi Startup Develops Large-Scale Microwave Plasma Conversion Technology for Hydrogen and Carbon Production

Enerzi Aims High with Microwave Plasma Technology

A pilot plant on the outskirts of Karnataka's Belagavi is nearing completion, with Enerzi planning to switch on its first facility by June. The 20-tonne-per-annum unit is a crucial step towards the company's ambitious expansion plans.

Over the next year, Enerzi aims to raise its capacity tenfold, laying the foundation for its first commercial plant. At the heart of this expansion is a deeptech proposition that uses microwave plasma technology to produce high-value outputs, including hydrogen and carbon nanopowder (CNP). These products have applications in batteries, conductive polymers, coatings, and potentially semiconductors.

Key Expansion Plans

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Enerzi has already begun testing its products, with prototype machines operational and early batches being sent to customers across industries for validation and benchmarking. The company has raised around Rs 20 crore in its last funding round, led by Capital A, and plans to hold off on additional capital until its pilot is operational.

The company's go-to-market strategy reflects the nature of its products, with carbon nanopowder being exported and hydrogen focused domestically in the near term due to logistics and supply-chain constraints. Enerzi is also exploring international expansion by setting up plants outside India, with immediate target markets including battery manufacturers and companies working on conductive materials and industrial coatings.

Microwave Plasma Technology: A Breakthrough

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Enerzi's core innovation lies in microwave plasma technology, an area it has been working on for over a decade. Originally applied across sectors like defence, aerospace, and food-processing, the technology has now found an application in energy and materials. The breakthrough came from an unexpected source, with Enerzi working with the lab-grown diamond industry to develop microwave plasma components and systems.

The company's technology is not only efficient but also flexible in terms of raw material inputs, using piped natural gas (PNG) as a feedstock but designed to be raw material agnostic. This flexibility could prove crucial as the company scales, with biogas infrastructure expanding in parallel and Enerzi confident of avoiding raw material bottlenecks.

Capital Discipline and Expansion

Enerzi's approach to capital discipline is deliberate, with the company holding off on additional funding until its pilot is operational. This is unusual in a sector where startups often raise aggressively to fund scale. However, for Enerzi, the focus is on de-risking the technology and validating demand before making larger bets.

If the pilot succeeds, the next step, a 10x scale-up, could unlock significantly larger funding opportunities. Enerzi's founder, Prakash Mugali, is joined by co-founder and CEO Kiran Hittalmani, who came on board in 2023 after a stint at Bosch. His experience in the automotive and energy sectors has been instrumental in shaping Enerzi's direction.

A Founding Story Shaped Beyond the Factory Floor

Prakash Mugali's story stands out not just for his technical journey but also for his parallel immersion in martial arts. For over a decade, he has been deeply involved in Bruce Lee's philosophy, earning a third-degree black belt and representing India at an international championship in Russia. The discipline, resilience, and mental clarity that come with martial arts have shaped his approach to entrepreneurship, requiring patience, persistence, and the ability to navigate long cycles of uncertainty.

A Long Game in Deeptech

Enerzi's journey reflects a broader shift in India's startup ecosystem, where deeptech is slowly moving from the margins to the mainstream. Capital A sees Enerzi operating in two large and globally relevant sectors, hydrogen and advanced carbon materials. Winning here isn't just about better technology, but delivering reliably and cost-effectively at scale. If Enerzi can build modular, manufacturable systems that compete globally on cost and efficiency, this becomes a global industrial business, not just an India story.