Sustainability Ventures—Academia Alliance—Studio & Accelerator
SVAASA is a multidisciplinary sustainability innovation platform at IIT Madras that connects academia, industry, startups, government, investors and ecosystem partners.
Sustainability challenges are complex. Developing a technology is only the beginning.
For an innovation to create meaningful impact, it must be technically validated, tested in real-world conditions, developed into a viable venture and connected to markets for scale. SVAASA addresses this journey through a continuous pathway — moving promising sustainability innovations beyond the laboratory, through prototyping, industrial validation, venture building and commercial deployment.
SVAASA creates a connected innovation pathway rather than treating innovation, incubation, piloting and market access as separate activities.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize — India
Ideas to Impact — i2I
Carbon Zero Challenge — CZC
SVAASA
Bringing industry and entrepreneurs into an active co-building studio with academia, providing hands-on engineering, research, analytical and design support for hardware and deep-tech prototypes.
Deploying functional prototypes directly into industrial facilities. SVAASA validates technical feasibility under real operational stress.
Connecting climate-tech founders directly with corporate leaders to scale up their startups.
Real-world challenges, pilot testbeds, scale-up.
Research, innovation, talent and technology.
Policy, collaboration, global networks.
Capital, mentorship, market access.
Mentoring, infrastructure, business support.
Regulatory support, incentives, policies.
Transform validated technologies into ventures.
Students and citizens identify water and sustainability challenges and develop early-stage innovations.
Undergraduate students develop climate and sustainability ideas and progress them towards proof-of-concept.
Early-stage startups and postgraduate/research teams develop functional prototypes and undertake pilot testing.
Scale & Deployment. Revenue-stage startups progress towards commercial-scale market deployment and corporate off-take.
Six interconnected themes — from research and pilots to market-ready climate and sustainability ventures.
Holistic ventures across water, energy & ecosystems.
Materials, waste valorisation & closed-loop models.
Emissions reduction, clean fuels & industrial transition.
Deep-tech hardware, sensing & climate analytics.
Air, water & soil remediation at scale.
Efficient use of water, energy & natural resources.
Highlights from Climate summer school, Stockholm junior water prize India, Ideas to Impact, Carbon Zero Challenge finale events at IIT Madras.
Academic, corporate and philanthropic partners supporting sustainability innovation.
Sponsor accelerator cohorts aligned with specific sustainability, climate or decarbonisation challenges.
Open industrial or municipal facilities for real-world technology testing and pilot deployment.
Provide seed funding and prototyping grants to help de-risk high-impact innovations.
Connect industry experts with startups and ventures for technical, business and market guidance.
Bring your challenge to a multidisciplinary ecosystem of researchers, innovators and startups.
Access technical expertise, pilots, mentors, corporate connections and pathways to scale.
Connect with emerging sustainability ventures and support their journey from prototype to market.
Join SVAASA as an industry, government, academic, knowledge, testbed, funding or ecosystem partner.
