cKers Finance invests USD 1 Million in Gradiant's industrial wastewater recycling & re-use project
NEW DELHI: cKers Finance, an NBFC focused on financing sustainability and clean energy transition in India has announced a USD 1 million debt financing tie-up with Gradiant India Private Limited, a water treatment technology innovator. This facility is used to finance a 4MLD Effluent Treatment Plant setup on a Design-Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (DBOOM) for an invested grade off taker in the chemicals industry.
Gradiant, founded at MIT, USA with global R&D in Singapore is a water treatment technology innovator has created solutions for treating complex industrial effluents with a lower energy footprint and higher water recovery. It helps industrial clients to reduce their water footprint, achieve sustainability goals and meet zero liquid discharge regulations. Its Indian operations service clients on both CAPEX (EPC) as well as OPEX (DBOOM/BOO) basis.
The water demand in India is expected to reach 1.5 trillion m3 by 2030 due to rapid urbanization and industrial growth. There is an ongoing water crisis, and 21 major cities are expected to run out of ground water before 2030. To bridge the demand supply gap, estimated investments in water treatment by 2030 are expected to be ~USD 290 billion. Government is moving towards mandatory Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) norms for several industries and regions.
Anurag Bajpayee, Founder, Gradiant said, "At Gradiant, our focus is to serve the clients who face the most complex water and wastewater challenges with innovative and sustainable solutions. We have over 200 patents to our name, aimed at saving our customers time, money and leave a smaller environmental footprint for the benefit of the world. We have setup an experienced on-ground team in India with extensive design, construction and operation skills."
cKers Finance, a specialized Sustainable Energy (SE) finance company operates in the rapidly growing segments around clean energy, eMobility and energy efficiency.
Speaking about the partnership with Gradiant, Deepak Gupta, Business Development Head, cKers Finance said "cKers has been a market leader in financing clean energy and clean mobility. This is the first time we have entered into the clean water space, as we have been able to develop our understanding of the sector and are getting access to the right technology partner in Gradiant. There is a large market for industrial projects costing INR 100 - 500 million where there is a gap seen in terms of both solution providers and financing. This is where we want to act as enablers to help project financing for distributed water reuse infrastructure in the industrial sector. We plan to build on this knowledge further and use it as a stepping stone to lend further in the water sector."
