📢 Startup of the week: Cancrie
coconut shells to EV batteries
Happy Wednesday!
Let’s talk about something exciting happening in the energy space because, honestly, who doesn’t love a good underdog startup story?
Two childhood friends from Jaipur, both passionate about sustainability, decide to tackle one of the biggest challenges in clean energy.
They don’t have millions in funding (yet), but what they do have is coconut shells. Yep, the same shells you toss after drinking coconut water at the beach. And with that, they’re revolutionizing battery technology.
Meet Akshay Jain and Mahi Singh, co-founders of Cancrie, a startup that’s turning agricultural waste into high-performance battery materials. Their innovation could make electric vehicles (EVs) go farther, last longer, and rely less on rare earth mining. Let’s dive into how they’re making this magic happen.
The Lightbulb Moment
Akshay and Mahi grew up together in Jaipur, but life took them on different paths.
Akshay pursued a PhD in chemical engineering at the National University of Singapore, while Mahi completed her master’s at Nanyang Technological University.
Even while studying, they were always brainstorming ways to create real-world impact through sustainability.
One day, during a casual discussion about waste management, they realized how much agricultural waste goes unused, especially coconut shells.
What if they could turn this waste into something valuable?
What if it could actually improve battery performance?
After countless late nights in the lab (and way too much coffee), they cracked the code: converting coconut shells into nanocarbon, a material that could make batteries significantly more efficient.
The Coconut Shell Battery Revolution
Okay, so what’s so special about this nanocarbon?Turns out, the structure of coconut shells makes them perfect for creating high-performance carbon materials. When processed correctly, this carbon has an ultra-high surface area and great conductivity, which helps batteries store more energy and charge faster.
The results? Stunning. Cancrie’s technology has been able to improve lithium-ion hybrid batteries by up to 125%. That means an EV that usually travels 100 km on a single charge could now go 225 km.
That’s a total game-changer, especially in a country like India, where EV infrastructure is still growing.
And the best part? This approach significantly reduces reliance on mining rare earth metals, which are not only expensive but also harmful to the environment.
By upcycling agricultural waste, Cancrie is making energy storage more sustainable, affordable, and scalable.
From Lab to Real-World Impact
Since launching in 2020, Cancrie has already made waves in the clean energy space. Over 3,500 batteries using their nanocarbon technology have been deployed in cities like Delhi, Navi Mumbai, and Pune.
In 2023, they bagged the National Energy Efficiency Innovation Award from India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which is pretty impressive for a startup that began with a simple “what if” idea. And the momentum doesn’t stop there.
Just this January, Cancrie secured a $1.2 million seed funding round co-led by Roots Ventures and IIMA Ventures. This investment will help them scale up production, enhance research and development, and expand their market presence.
Why Investors (and Consumers) Love Cancrie?
One of the biggest reasons Cancrie has attracted attention is that they’re solving multiple problems at once.
For EV manufacturers, Cancrie’s material means better battery performance at lower costs.
For consumers, it means electric vehicles that last longer on a single charge.
For the planet, it means reducing e-waste and mining dependency while making good use of agricultural waste.
In short, it’s a win-win-win. And as we move toward a future where sustainability and energy efficiency are top priorities, Cancrie is positioning itself as a key player in the battery revolution.
What’s Next?
With fresh funding and a growing list of industry partners, Akshay and Mahi are now focused on scaling up. They’re working on integrating their nanocarbon material into next-gen energy storage solutions beyond just EVs like grid storage, renewable energy backup, and even portable electronics.
If they succeed (and it looks like they will), we could be looking at a future where agricultural waste isn’t just discarded but used to power the world.
Connect with the Founders
Want to learn more? Connect with Akshay and Mahi on LinkedIn:
You can also check out their official website here: Cancrie
Wrapping Up
It’s not every day you hear about coconut shells transforming the battery industry, but Cancrie is proving that big ideas can come from the simplest sources.
So, next time you sip on coconut water, remember that what you’re holding isn’t just a shell; it could be the future of clean energy.
So, that’s it for today. If you enjoyed this edition, subscribe to hear from us every day!
See ya 👋
