Zerowatt: Turning Industrial Energy Efficiency into a Climate Opportunity

When Ansha Naji left a 14-year tenure at NTPC—India’s largest energy utility—he wasn’t stepping away from power, but stepping toward its smarter future. Having spearheaded large-scale power plant operations and developed green hydrogen, carbon-capture, and energy storage verticals at NTPC’s corporate hub, Ansha had seen firsthand the looming threats of climate change and the stark inefficiency lurking in our current energy use.

"Every major decarbonization technology is still years from mass affordability. But 30% of the energy we produce is wasted daily," he says. That insight sparked Zerowatt: a startup committed to making industrial energy efficiency scalable, real-time, and intelligent.

The Problem: Wasted Energy, Missed Opportunities

Factories today are flooded with sensor data, yet still rely on visiting specialists to identify inefficiencies—a process that’s expensive, delayed, and often unavailable when needed most. Whether it’s an idling motor at midnight or a compressor bleeding kilowatts on a weekend, avoidable waste continues unchecked.

The Solution: Energy Intelligence on Autopilot

Zerowatt solves this with what may be the world’s first end-to-end Energy-Intelligence platform. Starting with ultra-low-cost data acquisition from existing factory sensors, the platform streams data to the cloud and applies proprietary AI and rule-based analytics to detect every possible energy wastages in real-time.

Whether it's a mis-tuned furnace or a leaking airline, Zerowatt flags every avoidable kilowatt-hour and guides plant staff on the spot with actionable insights.

"We’re democratizing energy expertise so factories don’t have to rely on specialists. The intelligence is embedded, always on, and always watching," explains Ansha.

Meet the Founders

• Ansha Naji (CEO): NTPC veteran in green energy strategy and industrial operations.
• Sooraj Surendran (COO): Expert in grid commissioning and rapid industrial rollouts.
• Subin Abid (CPO): Project management leader from NTPC’s power portfolio.

The trio’s combined experience spans the breadth of power sector execution and innovation.

Business Model: ROI-First by Design

Zerowatt’s model is engineered to remove friction. The company charges a subscription per metering point, with hardware sold at cost. Typical factories recover their subscription fee via energy savings in just three months, after which the savings flow straight to EBITDA.

Traction: Real Impact, Rapid Growth

With over 120 MW of industrial load already under management across 100+ factories in India, Zerowatt delivers an average 10% reduction in energy use. That translates to approximately 78,800 tonnes of CO₂ avoided annually—the equivalent of planting 3.8 million mature trees for one year.

The startup’s impact and innovation earned it first prize at Envision, India’s first energy festival hosted by IIT Madras, where it is currently incubated within India’s leading deeptech ecosystem.

Funding: Built on Belief

In an ecosystem where deep-tech capital remains elusive, Zerowatt is entirely bootstrapped from its founders’ savings. The patience and technical ambition this model demands underscore the team’s belief in their mission.

Vision: The Energy Operating System for Industry

In the next 12 months, Zerowatt aims to reach ₹40 crore in revenue and serve 300 industrial sites. Long term, the vision is bold: to become the world’s default energy-intelligence layer, cutting energy use, slashing emissions, and driving operational transformation across industries globally.

"Climate change is humanity’s biggest threat—but also its greatest opportunity," says Ansha. "Avoiding catastrophe requires reinventing everything we’ve built. Incumbents won’t move fast enough. Identify a problem. Build the solution. It will be tough, but it’s worth it."