Wankel Energy Systems: 10 Key Things You Must Know

Overview

Wankel Energy Systems (WES) is an innovative deep-tech startup dedicated to advancing energy efficiency through groundbreaking technology. Founded in 2022 and incubated by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), WES has made notable strides by engineering "The Phoenix," the world's most efficient steam expander. This remarkable device captures energy typically lost in industrial processes, converting it into clean electricity, thereby presenting both economic and environmental benefits. Their technology extends beyond steam, showing versatility to operate on various mediums such as air, refrigerants, hydrogen, ammonia, CO2, and LNG. This article explores the crucial facets of Wankel Energy Systems, highlighting its origin, technology, impact, and future prospects.

1. Origin and Founding

Wankel Energy Systems was established in 2022 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The startup emerged from the incubation ecosystem at IIT Madras, one of India's top engineering institutions, blending academic excellence with industrial innovation. The founding team includes experts with backgrounds in research and development, spearheading a mission to make industrial processes more sustainable by capturing waste energy. Initial support came from government grants, including backing by the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, which played a critical role in propelling their early-stage development.

2. The Phoenix: World’s Most Efficient Steam Expander

At the heart of WES’s technology is "The Phoenix," a patented rotary steam expander that recovers pressure energy wasted in pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) found in industries relying on steam. Unlike traditional PRVs that dissipate this energy as heat, the Phoenix Expander converts this otherwise lost exergy into clean, reliable electricity. It operates without requiring modifications to existing plant infrastructure, enabling seamless integration. Each unit offers rapid payback, typically within 6 to 24 months, and ongoing financial savings paired with substantial CO2 emissions reduction.

3. Addressing Industrial Energy Waste

Industries across India and globally lose enormous amounts of potential energy through pressure-reducing valves, a common component regulating steam flow. It is estimated that this lost exergy represents close to 160 kW of power per valve, translating to annual losses worth tens of thousands of crores of rupees in India alone. Wankel Energy Systems tackles this challenge with their expander technology, effectively turning wasted pressure into electricity, improving industrial efficiency, and enabling significant cost savings.

4. Environmental Impact and Sustainability

By recovering and converting wasted steam energy, WES’s technology contributes to a dramatic reduction in carbon emissions. Each Phoenix Expander installation is estimated to reduce over 180 tonnes of CO2 annually. As industries adopt this technology widely, the cumulative environmental benefits are enormous — helping industrial sectors meet sustainability goals and aligning with global climate action agendas. This underscores WES’s role as a climate tech pioneer with scalable solutions for carbon footprint reduction.

5. Versatility Beyond Steam

While The Phoenix expander primarily targets steam energy recovery, Wankel Energy Systems’ technology platform is designed for broader applications. Their innovation extends to working with other media such as air, refrigerants, hydrogen, ammonia, CO2, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). This cross-medium functionality positions WES to impact compressors and combustion engines, expanding their footprint across diverse industrial sectors reliant on different fluid and gas systems.

6. Commercial Success and Funding

Wankel Energy Systems secured a significant milestone in 2025 by raising $1 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by Shastra VC, with participation from strategic angel investors. This financial boost supports their goal to deploy over 1,000 Phoenix Expander units within the next decade, both across India and in global markets. The funding reflects investor confidence in WES’s potential to transform industrial energy usage and scale climate technology solutions effectively.

7. Technology Development and Patents

WES has developed and protected its innovations rigorously, holding three granted patents in India and the United States, along with over 20 innovations safeguarded as trade secrets. This intellectual property portfolio underpins their technological edge and commercial defensibility. Continuous research and development efforts are ongoing at their laboratory based inside the IIT Madras Research Park, enabling rapid prototyping and refinement of their energy expander and future products.

8. Applications Across Industrial Sectors

The Phoenix Expander’s applications span critical industrial sectors such as food processing, dairy, textiles, paper manufacturing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals—industries heavily reliant on steam boilers. Given the magnitude of steam generation in India alone (over 1.26 billion tonnes annually), the deployment of WES’s technology offers broad opportunities for cost savings, energy efficiency improvements, and environmental benefits across these foundational sectors.

9. Challenges and Ecosystem Support

Despite technological promise, Wankel Energy Systems faces challenges typical for Indian climate-tech startups, including limited ecosystem support compared to counterparts in the US. These include access to advanced testing facilities, funding options, talent recruitment, and scaling support. The founders have expressed gratitude for government grants but continue to push for greater industry awareness and support to accelerate market adoption and growth.

10. Future Prospects and Innovations

WES envisions expanding beyond their flagship steam expander product to build a platform of advanced compressors and combustion engines designed to revolutionize industrial energy usage. They plan to generate critical data from pilots in diverse industrial settings to validate performance and refine models before broadening deployment across regions and worldwide. Their open-source Green Genie digital tool also aids industries in estimating energy savings and emission reductions, exemplifying a commitment to transparency and sustainability leadership.

Conclusion

Wankel Energy Systems stands at the forefront of industrial energy innovation, transforming how energy efficiency and sustainability can be achieved in heavy industries reliant on steam and other media. From their roots at IIT Madras to their ambitious global expansion plans, WES combines deep technological expertise with a passionate mission to address climate challenges and bring substantial cost savings to industrial users. As industries worldwide seek cleaner, smarter solutions, Wankel Energy Systems exemplifies how technology-driven startups can lead the transition toward sustainable industrial futures. How much energy remains untapped in your industry, and could Wankel’s innovation unlock it?